The VAi has acquired the archive of Martine De Maeseneer Architecten (MDMA), a theoretically underpinned and conceptually innovative architectural practice that has been operating since the late 1980s. This extensive archive includes preparatory drawings, sketches, photos and slides, and models, as well as publications and theoretical texts. Together these provide outstanding insight into the thinking and design methodology of MDMA’s architectural practice, in which theory and design are consciously interwoven.
While studying at the Bartlett in London, Martine De Maeseneer came into contact with Bill Hillier’s work on Space Syntax, a method that reads spaces through patterns of human movement and topological relationships. This analytic, almost linguistic approach to space was an important foundation of her early thinking. Her practice was also strongly influenced by the work of philosophers such as Jacques Derrida, through which themes such as semantics, meaning and architectural language play a central role.
MDMA’s architecture is known for reinterpreting, amplifying or distorting conventional architectural elements, a process that De Maeseneer herself describes as the de‑objectification method. Familiar parts of a house – such as walls, windows, doors or stairs – are enlarged, moved, or reinterpreted. The emphasis thus shifts from pure form to meaning and experience of space. The Cabrio House in Meise is a well-known example of this concept.
By consistently balancing between theoretical reflection and concrete construction, MDMA has developed an oeuvre that is at once experimental, linguistic and spatially innovative. This translates into residential and commercial buildings, as well as public projects.
The acquired archive documents MDMA’s practice, from early sketches to fully developed projects. The projects include:
The archive also includes extensive material from MDMA’s theoretical work: publications such as The In-di-visible Space (1993) and Ideality-3-Lost (1997), as well as numerous essays published in international magazines and books.
Following inventory and repackaging, the archive will be made accessible to a wide audience. Thanks to this acquisition, the VAi can preserve a practice that made a unique contribution to the history of Flemish architecture. With its combination of a markedly theoretical discourse, a post-structuralist design language, and a meticulously documented building practice from the years 1990–2010, this archive constitutes a valuable piece of architectural heritage for Flanders and Belgium.
