Project

Unfolding the Archives

In the Unfolding the Archives series, the Flanders Architecture Institute exhibits major pieces, hidden treasures and striking discoveries from its collection. It enriches contemporary architectural themes with a historical dimension, shows newly acquired archives to visitors for the first time, or elucidates prominent figures or moments from architectural history.

Onderdeel van de voorgevel van het KMSKA, wedstrijdontwerp van 1877 door Jean-Jacques Winders © CIVA Collections, Brussel

Unfolding the Archives #7 KMSKA, built for beauty

The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA) celebrated its reopening in 2022, after a lengthy restoration and expansion project. But how did this 19th-century building arise? The seventh edition of the exhibition series Unfolding the Archives provides an insight into how the then young architects Jean-Jacques Winders and Frans Van Dijk designed the KMSKA. Unique objects, photos, archival material and several masterpieces take you back to the 1884 design.

Experience the architecture and history of the KMSKA and the South district of Antwerp also via the ErfgoedApp!

23.10.2024-19.01.2024

Woning Kelchtermans, Marcel Raymaekers en Jos Witters © Anja Hellebaut & Anthony De Meyere

Unfolding the Archives #6 Marcel Raymaekers, pioneer in circular architecture

How do contemporary designers look at building practices from the past? For this sixth edition of the exhibition series Unfolding the Archives, Rotor, UGent and the Flanders Architecture Institute take you into the world of designer Marcel Raymaekers (b. 1933).

06.09.2023-17.03.2024

Unfolding the Archives #5 Diarama

For the fifth edition of Unfolding the Archives, the Flanders Architecture Institute presents a selection of diapositives from its collection. Some 35,000 slides – depicting architectural practice in all its facets – were digitised as part of a special project in 2021. The interactive exhibition Diarama allows visitors to make their own changing slide collages.

23.06.2022-11.09.2022

Wederopbouw van de Sint-Katharinekerk in Hoogstraten (1950). Verstraete & Vanhecke, Wilrijk

Unfolding the Archives #4 Construction Firms

In the fourth instalment of Unfolding the Archives, we immerse you in the world of construction firms. The exhibition introduces you to the construction industry and how it changed since the end of the nineteenth century. With hidden treasures from the archives of construction firms, we offer you a glimpse behind the scenes of the building process.

Claire Bataille en Paul ibens aan de tekentafel met een ontwerp voor het klooster 'Zusters der Heilige Familie' in Brecht, ca. 1968, Collectie Vlaams Architectuurinstituut | Collectie Vlaamse Gemeenschap, foto © Paul Lambert

Unfolding the Archives #3 Bataille & ibens

The third episode in the series Unfolding the Archives shines the spotlight on interior architects Bataille & ibens. The exhibition takes ‘detail’ as its starting point and, in so doing, offers a new perspective on the oeuvre of the famous designer duo.

Ontwerptekening details inkompartij Woning Lampens - Dierick, Gavere, Belgium, 1990 (Foto: Juliaan Lampens)

Unfolding the Archives #2 Juliaan Lampens

For the second edition of Unfolding the Archives, the Flanders Architecture Institute draws on the oeuvre of Juliaan Lampens (1926-2019). Based on a selection of unique archive pieces, the exhibition offers an unprecedented insight into this architect’s working method.

Maquette van de Vleeshuiswijk in Antwerpen, 1965, ontworpen door Dries Jageneau en Armand Vermeyen’, uit het archief van Dries Jageneau, Collectie Vlaams Architectuurinstituut – Collectie Vlaamse Gemeenschap

Unfolding the Archives #1

The first edition starts at the beginning. The Flanders Architecture Institute became a collections management organisation in 2018. This transition was seized upon as an opportunity to launch a major assimilation campaign. During the inventorying and processing of the archives, beautiful, unexpected and sometimes moving documents came to light. The exhibition brings together a wide range of documents: drawings, diaries, sketches, musings and letters, offering an insight into the richness of the collection.

Moreover, the project shows the path travelled by an architectural archive: from the collection of the artefacts (in sometimes challenging circumstances) to carefully considered and in-depth processes, to its opening up to a wide audience. A unique glimpse behind the scenes of the archive.

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