House for Seasonal Neighbours

The temporary 'House for Seasonal Neighbours' pavilion was built during the summer of 2018. The idea originated from a fascination with the architecture of hospitality. Focused on the Haspengouw context, the house was a hybrid between a scaled-down Flemish terraced house and the numerous temporary container homes that accommodate seasonal workers. The House for Seasonal Neighbours was an attempt to create a public place for private time, separate from work and employer, where seasonal workers and those who pay their wages could socialise. For 160 days, this scaled-down terraced house, assembled from prefabricated aluminium panels and a modular steel structure, stood between houses on the roadside, the agricultural infrastructure and commercial bix boxes. A local sign in five languages explained to visitors and casual passers-by that this project was 'a monument to the homeless presence of seasonal workers in the region' and invited them to come and live there. During one harvest season, the pavilion was a backdrop for discussion, questioning and awareness of the changing social relationships that developments in the local age-old fruit cultivation process bring about.

This text is based on the architects’ project details and the essay by Michiel De Cleene, which was published in Flanders Architectural Review N°14. When attitudes take form.