Flanders Architectural Review N°14. When Attitudes Take Form

When Attitudes Take Form

Apartmentisation, the ‘building shift’, Mobiscore, demolition, air quality, mobility and the right to a home… All of these terms have had a pointed and persistent presence in the Flemish media in recent months. Reason enough, therefore, for an examination of how architects use ‘form’ to tackle societal challenges. The projects selected for inclusion in the Flanders Architectural Review N°14 demonstrate that architects in Flanders and Brussels are actively responding to these changes with a strong spatial dimension. Designers are permanently searching for a design attitude and language by which to provide forward-thinking responses to profound ecological, social, urban planning and economic transitions. This core idea resonates in the title of the latest book: When Attitudes Take Form.

The position of the architect in a changing world

The authors conclude that the architectural practice is in an unprecedented state of transition. Contemporary architects assume different roles within society: not only are they designers, but also researchers or engaged citizens. They have a new attitude towards material culture and participation. The young architect and his or her quest for how architecture is realised within an increasingly complex world also occupies a prominent place in the book.

The role of the civil society

The book questions the discipline of architecture while also communicating a broader social narrative about how cities deal with diversity, intergenerational places and the memory of the city. Ten essays examine the link between engagement and form and what this means for new urban developments, the right to housing, the contribution of the visual arts to architecture, and the active input of users in design processes. The leitmotif is the crucial role that civil society organisations play within projects that result in high-quality architecture. The COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdown have demonstrated that not everyone in society enjoys equal rights to high-standard spaces and that healthcare and education systems, for example, are in need of radical re-evaluation, and not just in policy terms but also architecturally. A strong civil society, ranging from care workers to journalists, is vital to this process.

Flanders Architectural Review

A new edition of the Flanders Architecture Review is published every two years. The series began in 1994 and remains a yardstick for architecture in and from Flanders and Brussels to this very day. To compile the fourteenth edition, the editors evaluated around 400 recent projects. They visited buildings, spoke to clients and users and studied numerous plans. This intensive process led to a selection of some 50 projects that are presented in words and images.

Highlighted projects:

• Construction materials hub, Vergote dock, Brussels

  TETRA architecten

• Bogerse Velden social housing, Lier

  META architectuurbureau

• Gruuthusemuseum, Bruges
  noAarchitecten

• Atelier Pascale Marthine Tayou, Ghent
  BC architects & studies
  
• Perrekes House, Oosterlo
  NU architectuuratelier
  
• Fondatie van Boudelo Lookout Tower, Sint-Niklaas
  Baeten Hylebos Architecten
  
• Provence of Antwerp Headquarters
  Xaveer De Geyter Architects
  
• House in Begijnhoflaan, Dendermonde
  Eagles of Architecture
  
• De Drie Platanen Residential Care Centre, Ostend
  Bovenbouw Architectuur
  
• Yper Museum, Ieper
  Frederic Vandoninck Wouter Willems architecten
  
• Z33 - House for Contemporary Art, Hasselt
  Francesca Torzo