Flourishing Landscapes: Architecture Day on Sunday, 13 October 2013

Is Flanders becoming one big park city? Do all urban gardens together match the power of a nature preserve? Are high-rises the best solution for the lack of affordable land for development? How can a factory be combined with a shopping district? Is the next step after the green roof the vegetable-garden roof? Can open space be protected by making it serve the city? Is reconversion possible without driving out industry? Discover the power of the urbanised landscape during the sixth Architecture Day on Sunday, 13 October 2013.

The Flourishing City in Flanders Landscape and architecture are dependent upon each other. Flourishing Landscapes reveals the possibilities for our built environment. A building culture based on the consumption of space is becoming increasingly untenable. During this edition of Architecture Day, we will be searching for new forms of housing, employment and society. Each of the projects in the programme is aimed at reversing the space-consumption trend in some way. The solutions offered range from small-scale to large-scale, through such means as connecting spatial functions to each other and doing more with less space. The theme for this edition of Architecture Day is a sequel to the exhibition entitled The Ambition of the Territory: Flanders as Design, which was held last year at the International Architecture Biennial in Venice and in deSingel. This debate is not just a get-together for experts; it is about the world in which all of us live.

Genk, the Park City One new feature this year is the designation of a city or region as the capital of Architecture Day. The city of Genk will be the first capital. Genk illustrates the current issue of park cities. This young city is working with its inhabitants to find ways to shape Genk into a sustainable and high-quality living environment. Although the park city of Genk has many advantages, it is facing severe economic challenges. Success will require aligning spatial ambitions with social ambitions. Genk is also a laboratory for the industrial society of the future.

In the week preceding Architecture Day, we will be bringing together experts in various disciplines from home and abroad to reflect on the future of Genk. On Saturday 12 October, Architecture Eve will be organised in C-Mine. During this event, Minister Joke Schauvliege will award the 2013 Flemish Community Architecture prize.

Especially for this occasion, the journalist Pascal Verbeken and the photographer Jimmy Kets are preparing ‘a city portrait’ of Genk, based on text and image. The publication will be presented during Architecture Eve, and it will be available on Architecture Day. Verbeken is highly acclaimed for his work Grand Central Belge, and Kets is the house photographer for De Standaard.

The Landscape of Architecture During Architecture Day, you will be able to discover various architectural projects in your own region or beyond. More than 90 project initiators have responded to the Open Call to organise activities. We will be displaying projects from Westhoek to Maasland. Between 10:00 and 18:00, a wide rage of buildings and activities will be open for you to visit, including the Berchem Containerpark, the Lot Projects (kavelprojecten) in Ghent and the Cosmos Park in Heuvelland. You can participate in a variety of guided tours, walking and cycling tours, exhibitions, lectures, debates and master classes.