Bovenbouw Architectuur. The House of the Explorer

A world of paper, cardboard and models becomes the visualisation of the architect’s longing to shape his own universe.

Under the direction of architect Dirk Somers, Bovenbouw’s team of eighteen staff creates a colourful oeuvre of highly diverse buildings. Their work thrives on the tension between thought and action, between the present and the past, and between exoticism and the everyday. In The House of the Explorer, they present a visual and sensory experience instead of a thematic or chronological story. A quick glance draws you into a parallel universe full of surprises, both big and small. For the attentive viewer, it is a voyage of discovery through the many layers of history, connections and references that characterise Bovenbouw’s work.

One obvious element is missing from the exhibition: photographs of buildings. This need is met by the book Bovenbouw Architectuur. Living the Exotic Everyday. The publication provides the photographic interpretation that is banished from the exhibition. In addition to a wealth of visual material, a number of essays identify the synergies between Bovenbouw’s multifaceted oeuvre and the architects’ wide-ranging passions.

Bovenbouw has already exhibited work in Venice, Munich, Frankfurt, Ghent, Mendrisio and Antwerp.