Tuesday, June 07, 2016

Venice – Giardini - Pavilions: The 15th International Architecture Biennale - Belgium

 
The Belgium Pavilion - Bravoure
Commissioner: Christoph Grafe, Director Flanders Architecture Institute
Curator: Bravoure Architecten de Vylder Vinck Taillieu - Doorzon Interieur Architecten - Filip Dujardin

“Together with Bravoure, we are exploring what craftsmanship can mean during a period of economic scarcity.”
Jan De Vylder - Curator

Belgium. Exhibiting fragments of thirteen representative projects from thirteen Flemish architects in the Belgian pavilion. The execution of a piece of music that combines excellent technical control with unique vigor and personality is described as a Bravura performance. Architecture can also been implemented with Bravura.  Although Scarcity would not immediately appear to be an idea that could be linked to bravura, the architecture of necessity follows the cadence of the economy. It is the imperative nature of Scarcity that acts as the ultimate challenge to the execution of a Bravura performance.

 
Project: Maarschalk Gerardstraat 5, Antwerp, 2014

Architect: Eagles of Architecture

Belgium. For the reconversion of a nineteenth-century house into separate units, a new kind of materiality was developed in contrast to the original architecture. The metal stud frames and standard colored plasterboard panels only received a layer of polish, instead of being painted over as would be expected. The resulting materiality and its technical logic of colors – pink plasterboard is fire-resistant, green is waterproof and blue is for acoustics seem to connect to the rich, rococo-like atmosphere of the house, while being completely different. 

 
Project: Maarschalk Gerardstraat 5, Antwerp, 2014

Architect: Eagles of Architecture

Belgium. For the reconversion of a nineteenth-century house into separate units, a new kind of materiality was developed in contrast to the original architecture. The metal stud frames and standard colored plasterboard panels only received a layer of polish, instead of being painted over as would be expected. The resulting materiality and its technical logic of colors – pink plasterboard is fire-resistant, green is waterproof and blue is for acoustics seem to connect to the rich, rococo-like atmosphere of the house, while being completely different. 



Project: Refuge II, Nevele, 2014

Architect: Wim Goes Architectuur

Belgium. Refuge II is a house built for a friend diagnosed with ALS and a limited life expectancy. The house had to accommodate the different stages of the illness and will be disassembled afterwards. But, more importantly, the house was built by friends and relatives, who wanted to celebrate life and focus on constructiveness. The construction of the house was transformed into a communal process, uniting a group of over hundred people in a meaningful activity.