Van 5 tot 7 september 2023 organiseren het Vlaams Architectuurinstituut en de Universiteit Hasselt het colloquium As Found: Experiments in Preservation. Het colloquium richt zich op ontwerpers, onderzoekers en studenten met een focus op concepten en praktijken die ingrijpen in de bestaande gebouwde omgeving, oftewel 'as found architecture'.
Tot 16 juni kan je tegen een early-bird verlaagd tarief registreren.
The work of architects nowadays increasingly consists of intervening in already existing buildings or (urban) structures. The modern dichotomy between architecture and historic preservation, with the former concentrating primarily on the design of new buildings and the latter on the restoration of existing buildings in a state of the past, seems to have given way to a new approach today.
A more experimental approach in which the narratives and traces found in the existing are the inspiration for contemporary interventions. This changing approach to the built environment - the 'heritage' in the broadest sense - has also been extensively addressed in architectural and academic research.
This session explores experimental spatial strategies for existing buildings.
Architects are increasingly interested in adaptive reuse, challenging traditional conservation principles.
We will address questions such as the relationship between interior and exterior, the meaning of emptiness, and the role of removal in preserving heritage. We seek new approaches to question conventional practices and present a range of experiments.
Remodelling historical sites changes initial meanings and introduces new narratives. Architects seek to enter into a dialogue with the past on formal and conceptual grounds. Are architects like translators who transfer the meaning from an existing structure into a new one?
However, dealing with ambiguous or controversial histories and immaterial heritage raises questions. How do we document and secure immaterial dimensions, and whose values are taken care of?
Historical buildings are affordable and flexible but lose affordability and current uses during transformation. How can we develop adaptive reuse strategies to keep current functions and local community value?
This session explores all forms of existing use, including resistance and formal involvement in planning. Presentations can also explore developer perspectives to understand why existing programs rarely survive and examine needed incentives for change.
This session explores how architectural education has embraced notions of reuse and sustainability, seeking contributions through case studies.
Authors are invited to critically analyze pedagogical tools and methods for reading the built environment and consider how adaptive reuse can meet increasing demands for educational spaces. They can also examine how existing frameworks and structures impact curriculum formation and educational processes.
The colloquium is closely linked with the exhibition As Found which will take place from September 2023 until March 2024 in De Singel in Antwerp. It is also connected to the research group TRACE of the Faculty of Architecture and Arts, Hasselt University. This colloquium aims to bring together designers, researchers and students to discuss experimental concepts and practices to intervene in the existing built environment as found.
Venues
The opening event (5 September 2023) of the colloquium will take place in DE SINGEL in Antwerp, at the location of the Flanders Architectural Institute (VAi). This event will include a visit to the exhibition, a keynote lecture and a roundtable discussion.
The following two days (6 & 7 September 2023) will take place in Hasselt, in a former prison that has been converted for the faculty of law of Hasselt University.
Registration
Click here for the registration form!
Early Bird Registration: 150€ (after 16 June: 205€)
For students, alumni UHasselt and staff of UH partners in VLIR-UOS countries: 75€ (after 16 June 105€).
Please note that presenters need to register no later than 16 June.
05.09.2023 - 07.09.2023
Early Bird Registration: 150€
After 16 June: 205€
For students, alumni UHasselt and staff of UH partners in VLIR-UOS countries: 75€
Aafter 16 June 105€
Click here for the registration form!
Prof. Markus Berger, Rhode Island School of Design
Stijn Cools, aNNo Architecten & KULeuven
Dr. Elke Couchez, Faculty of Architecture and Arts, Hasselt University
Prof. Dr. Sofie De Caigny, Flanders Architecture Institute & UAntwerp
Prof. Stefan Devoldere, Faculty of Architecture and Arts, Hasselt University
Hülya Ertas, Flanders Architecture Institute & KU Leuven
Prof. Dr. Christoph Grafe, Bergische Universität Wuppertal
Prof. Dr. Bie Plevoets, Faculty of Architecture and Arts, Hasselt University
Prof. Dr. Even Smith Wergeland, The Oslo School of Architecture and Design
Prof. Sally Stone, Manchester School of Architecture
Prof. Dr. Wouter Van Acker, Université Libre de Bruxelles
Prof. Dr. Koenraad Van Cleempoel, Faculty of Architecture and Arts, Hasselt University
Prof. Dr. Stephanie Van de Voorde, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Karina Van Herck, Agentschap Onroerend Erfgoed
Faculty of Architecture and Arts, Hasselt University
Nadin Augustiniok
Peter Firman
Christel Heynickx
Dr. Inge Lens
Prof. Dr. Bie Plevoets
Nusrat Ritu
Prof. Dr. Koenraad Van Cleempoel
Flanders Architecture Institute
Sofie De Caigny, Flanders Architecture Institute & UAntwerp
Hülya Ertas, Flanders Architecture Institute & KU Leuven