Table Setting is the exhibition series for young architects in Flanders and Brussels from the Flanders Architecture Institute and De Singel. It is the next stage in a tradition of young architecture at the arts center. Since the 1980s, established names have found a stage there upon which to showcase their early oeuvre (Young Architecture in Belgium in 1988 and 35m³ young architecture in 2005). Today too, young architects are challenged to determine their own position with regard to the discipline, complex spatial situations and social questions.
The square in front of De Singel represents the cacophony in which young architects start up their own practice. The multiform boundaries of the asphalt expanse are an ideal backdrop for the exhibition series. Every architect exhibiting there has a set of tables with props designed by Laura Muyldermans. The tables not only serve as an installation in which the designers showcase their work, but also challenge them to take possession of the space on the square.
The portfolio of the young Leuven office fijn architectuur atelier shows a particular sensitivity for dealing with found elements and structures. Their presentation on the square in front of DE SINGEL is an outpouring of this. Table Setting #9 shows how a design attitude for private homes carries over into its initial public commissions.
01.05.2024 - 23.06.2024
read moreIn 2024, the exhibition series Table Setting challenges young architects to present themselves through residential architecture. After all, individual residential projects are still an important breeding ground for a starting architect. The question is how small private commissions are shaping the critical position of young designers, now that precisely this type of commission is under increasing social pressure.
The Ghent office platform architectuur presents itself through residential forms. In a large-scale collage on the forecourt of DE SINGEL, they bring together the individual houses from their early years with the collective housing projects that they work on at present.
23.02.2024 - 21.04.2024
Designer duo Saffir create an ambitious structure on the forecourt of DE SINGEL. Architects Ilse De Sutter and Matilde Everaert stack tables to new heights, only to cover the tower with a collage of their own work. This creates a unique experience where space and images interact, just like in their practice.
25.08.2023 - 15.10.2023
read moreThe Antwerp-based practice Studio bravo was founded by engineering architects Marianne Ghoos, Eva Gutscoven and Ruth Heirman. They met at KU Leuven, but then each specialised in different areas of design practice. In their studio, they combine their experience in architectural design, stability, spatial planning, heritage and landscape. From this broad background, an engaged and critical attitude guides their projects.
23.06.2023 - 20.08.2023
read moreIn the fourth edition of Table Setting, young architect Maxime Prananto creates an extension for the installation on the forecourt of DE SINGEL. His work plays at the intersection of architecture, interior design, design and scenography. Prananto's projects reflect a search for the elegance of infrastructure and the utility of aesthetics, fuelled by a fascination with materials and fabrication processes.
21.04.2023 - 18.06.2023
read moreIn late summer, architect and researcher Sophia Holst will be the third architect to take part in Table Setting. In this exhibition series, young designers from Flanders and Brussels will take up position on the square in front of De Singel, using a set of display tables and accompanying attributes. In Table Setting #3, Holst turns the spotlight on the often overlooked rooftop landscape of De Singel. In doing so, she examines the untapped potential of public outdoor space on the arts campus.
26.08.2022 - 23.10.2022
read moreIn Table Setting #2, Joris Kerremans and Stan Auwers interpret the tables as rooms to scale. The proportions of the modular exhibition furniture determine nine identical spaces with a distinct direction, while the openings in the side walls imply a scale. Each room occupies one table. Together, they form a small-scale pavilion on the forecourt of De Singel. Because the interiors are visually and mentally accessible at these dimensions, the relationship with the visitor is extremely direct and physical.
18.06.2022 - 21.08.2022
read moreTable Setting #1 explores the subjective relationship between greenery and domesticity. A well-maintained garden or lawn in a (sub)urban context often reveals a household’s social status. Within a domestic context, nature is more than a simple piece of greenery, it is laden with a symbolic narrative. These individualised natural landscapes are artificial. They are carefully modelled, the personal ideals of what an earthly paradise might look like.
01.04.2022 - 12.06.2022
read moreWith the installation Table Setting Muyldermans seeks out dialogues at different levels. First and foremost, it invites us to meet one another in the public space, on the boundary between De Singel and the Desguinlei. It is also the first step in a long-running conversation with young architects. They will always vary the positioning of the tables and the way in which they fill them with their work. Table Setting #0 showcases a selection of projects by Laura Muyldermans in which dialogue and public space play a central role.
21.01.2022 - 06.03.2022
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