Architects from Flanders and Brussels at the Architecture Biennale Venice 2012
Press release
British architect David Chipperfield and his team are curating the world’s most important architecture exhibition. Chipperfield invited a selection of 58 architects and artists, including Kazuyo Sejima, Herzog and de Meuron, Oliafur Eliasson, Thomas Struth and Thomas Demand, to contribute to the ‘Common Ground’ exhibition at the Arsenale in Venice and establish collaborations with other studios. From Flanders the studios Marie-José van Hee architecten, Robbrecht en Daem architecten, Bovenbouw Architectuur, office Kersten Geers David Van Severen and Martine De Maeseneer Architects will show their work in Venice.
"Never before have so many Flemish and Brussels studios been invited to participate in the Architecture Biennale in Venice."
Gent architects Robbrecht en Daem/ Marie-José Van Hee were invited by David Chipperfield to exhibit their project for a new ‘town hall’ in Ghent, along with a number of other recent projects. Along with six other studios from several European countries Bovenbouw Architectuur from Antwerp have been invited by London architects Caruso St John team to present their work. Office Kersten Geers David Van Severen (Brussels) organised a group exhibition for the Italian architectural magazine San Rocco, while Martine De Maeseneer Architects (Brussels) will be present with projects by students from Saint Lucas School of Architecture and with their project for the Bronks youth theatre in Brussels.
At the Belgian pavilion in the Giardini, ‘The Ambition of the Territory’ exhibition curated by the team AWJGGRAUaDVVTAT explores visions for a sustainable future development in Flanders. The brief for this exhibition was formulated by the Flemish Architecture Institute (VAi) and the team of the Flemish Government Architect.
Also at the Architecture Biennale, the tenth edition of the Architectural Review Flanders, entitled ‘Radical Commonplaces – European Architectures from Flanders’, will be launched. This richly illustrated publication examines the development of novel concepts of residential accommodation in one of the most densely populated regions in Europe, its urban renovation projects and infrastructure and the powerful cultural ambition that is reflected in a significant number of recent public and private buildings in Flanders.