In 2018, Rotterdam-based architect Enzo Valerio won a design competition for a multifunctional pavilion in the Pinetum Blijdenstein. The long-awaited construction of this new pavilion in the Hilversum botanical garden unfolds in the rhythm of nature.
At the Garden's Pace is an immersive, observational documentary that transforms the construction process into a meditative experience.
With occasional help from the gardener and under the watchful eyes of local residents, the architects put on overalls and work boots, taking on the role of builders themselves. For a year, their work follows the unhurried pace of daily life in the garden. Director Juan Benavides documented the process over fifteen visits across four seasons. Using slow cinema techniques—long takes, wide frames, static shots, and an original soundtrack—the film unfolds as a seamless sequence, inviting the viewer to experience the pavilion as if taking a long walk through the garden.
Enzo Valerio will be present for the introduction and Q&A at the film’s first screening on 2 December 2025.
In times of ecological and societal transition, public space is never neutral.
The exhibition Tamed Nature, on view at the Flanders Architecture Institute from 17 September onwards, investigates how green urban spaces embody power, history and social tensions. It explores the layered history of urban green space through the lens of the city of Antwerp.
02.12.2025
Can’t make it today? No worries! This film will also be shown on 16.12.2025.
20:15u
68 min.
NL/EN, with English subtitles
2025, Juan Benavides
De Cinema
Maarschalk Gérardstraat 4
2000 Antwerp
€9, standard
€6,5 reduction
Flanders Architecture Institute X De Cinema
The Government of Flanders
World Premiere at the Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam 2024
Official selection ADFF: New York, ADFF: Vancouver, ADFF: Toronto, 2025
In 2025, De Cinema and the Flemish Architecture Institute (VAi) join forces for a unique series of monthly film evenings in De Cinema in Antwerp under the title “Architecture on Film”. Each first Tuesday of the month, this collaboration takes you into the world of architecture and cinema, where buildings become characters, cities set the stage, and design shapes the stories. For those seeking a second chance: the films will be re-screened without an introduction on the third Tuesday of the month.