A+ Architecture in Belgium

30/07/2024

Bringing art and architecture together means not only going beyond the functional aspects of spaces, but also opening up unique possibilities. Tangible proof of this can be found in the textures of a building – from the rough surface of concrete to the refined details of the finishes. These textures, which are more than just surface treatments, add a dimension that goes far beyond the purely visual and stimulate our senses. They form a tactile bridge between the visual and the physical, creating a different spatial experience.

Text: Angelique Campens

This project is featured in A+308 Textile & Texture. Order a copy via our website www.a-plus.be

25/07/2024

CALL FOR CANDIDATES

A+ Architecture in Belgium, together with Flanders Architecture Institute (VAi) and the Institut Culturel d'Architecture Wallonie Bruxelles (ICA), is organising a renewed edition of Across. Register for the new Across in Residence before 15 September!

Across in Residence is a residency programme for young practising architects on the theme of ‘self-initiated practice’.

This project provides a personal mentorship for young architects under the supervision of Pauline Fockedey (Nord) and Theo De Meyer. For four months, eight selected firms/architects will be guided individually and in group towards a collective showcase in Brussels in the summer of 2025. Along the way, the participating architects will have the opportunity to present their developments during two lecture evenings in Liège and Antwerp.

Do not hesitate and apply via the link in bio or via our website www.a-plus.be

Photos - flashbacks to previous editions of Across by: Maxime Delvaux, Benjamin Baltus, Sam Gilbert & Louise Van Laethem


Sponsored by d'Ieteren Immo

23/07/2024

Théâtre Le Vilar is located on the edge of the slab in Louvain-la-Neuve. It is by piercing that slab that the architects managed to gain in volume and fluidity. The great height radically altered the auditorium, which has (at last) become a high-performance facility. The height of the foyer allows it to be used as a stage space and changes the way we look at the city. Ouest boldly took part in the life process of this astonishing building.

Text: Cécile Vandernoot
Photo gallery: Corentin Haubruge

This project is featured in A+308 Textile & Texture. Order a copy via our website www.a-plus.be

18/07/2024

Antwerp’s former sailors’ quarter around Falconplein has a rich history. In its latest chapter, the construction of housing has taken centre stage, with a subtle but key role reserved for a 51N4E project.

Text: Christophe Van Gerrewey
Photos: Olmo Peeters

This project is featured in A+308 Textile & Texture. Order a copy on our website www.a-plus.be

16/07/2024

Take part in the new Across in Residence! Are you developing a spontaneous architectural and/or artistic practice? Do you have five years of work experience and can present four realised projects? Submit your application before 15 september 2024!

Across is back with a new concept: a residency programme for young practising architects, on the theme of "self-initiated practice". Across in Residence provides guidance under supervision of Pauline Fockedey (Nord) and Theo De Meyer. Over the duration of four months, the participants will be accompanied on their path towards a collective showcase in the summer of 2025. The selected architects/firms are also invited to present their work at three lecture evenings in Liège, Antwerp and Brussels.

Across is a collaboration between A+ Architecture in Belgium, the Flemish Architecture Institute (VAi) and the Institut Culturel d'Architecture Wallonie Bruxelles (ICA).

Sign up via www.a-plus.be.

11/07/2024

Tip for the summer! Since 2019, Vilvoorde’s Asiat Park has been the setting for the Horst Arts & Music Festival. The festival takes place on the grounds of former military barracks in Vilvoorde. Horst has opened up the site to the public, enabling different disciplines such as architecture, art and music to work together. In keeping with tradition, the annual music festival is accompanied by an open-air exhibition of temporary and semi-permanent works, installations and pavilions spread across the site during the summer.

Text: Fabian De Vriendt
Photo gallery: Elias Derboven

This project is featured in A+308 Textile & Texture. Order a copy via our website www.a-plus.be

09/07/2024

A+ Architecture in Belgium, in collaboration with Bozar, is excited to announce that Ensamble Studio will give a lecture in Brussels on the 24th of September.

Architects Antón García-Abril and Débora Mesa are superstars of architecture’s avant-garde. In 2008 they built Hemeroscopium house, made of concrete beams and channels intended for highway construction and water irrigation. The vision for this project was to turn weight into lightness. One water channel, filled with water has become a floating swimming pool. On top of the house, a 20 ton granite stone gives expression to the force of gravity and forms a counterweight to the whole structure.

Don’t miss out and get your tickets via our website www.a-plus.be

Copyright images: Studio Ensamble / Roland Halbe

08/07/2024

Vola 2024 photo competition

The Danish manufacturer is organizing the ninth edition of this award, which recognizes the most beautiful projects by architects and interior designers using Vola's timeless products. Take photos of your projects using Vola fittings and enter the competition!

First prize is a trip to Copenhagen with a visit to room 606 of the Radisson Collection Royal Hotel. The second prize is a complete table set designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1957 for the same Radisson Hotel.

For more information : vola.com
Send 5 pictures to : [email protected]

04/07/2024

In the inter-war period, the modernists did away with everything to do with decoration and ornamentation. They advocated transparency, constructive honesty and functional design. Wallpaper and carpets were anathema. Everything had its own unique place. An important group of architects opposed this approach, however, especially in Vienna; they believed that the experience of users and their freedom of action took precedence over dictatorial purity. These architects stressed the importance of tactile materials, carpets and curtains, as well as the importance of comfort, good acoustics and flexibility. Their influence can still be felt today, as can be seen once again in the plans for a bookshop and restaurant at Kanal – Centre Pompidou in Brussels.

Text: Pieter T'Jonck
Project bookshop by: Central ofaau, Sophie Dars, Pierre Leguillon
Project restaurant by: Elmès, Générale, Vormen, Sarah & Charles

This project is featured in A+308 Textile & Texture. Order a copy via www.a-plus.be

02/07/2024

In mid-2023, just under sixty years after it was almost demolished, after obtaining the status of monument in two phases, a partial renovation, a brief resurrection and repeated closures, Maison Hannon finally opened its doors to the public as a ‘house museum’ of art nouveau furniture. Inside the building’s small rooms, architect Aslı Çiçek paradoxically managed to restore the grandeur and conviviality of both the objects on display and the architecture.

Text: Dominique Pieters
Photos: Maxime Delvaux

This project is featured in A+308 Textile & Texture. Order a copy via www.a-plus.be

30/06/2024

At the request of A+, Flore Fockedey, architect and textile designer, compiled a photo-essay of projects that drew her attention and influenced her over the years. In each case, the interventions show a particular interpretation of tactility, texture, space or physicality.

This project is featured in A+308 Textile & Texture. Order a copy via www.a-plus.be

27/06/2024

In the issue A+308, dedicated to textures and the tactility of materials, the discovery of interiors reveals more pronounced liberties. The domestic dimension can be more extravagant, the kind of extravagance you allow yourself in your own home. This is the case with the Dailly project, designed by Mamout Architects (Matthieu Busana and Sébastien Dachy) for Matthieu Busana and his family.

Text: Cécile Vandernoot
Photos: Séverin Malaud

This project is featured in A+308 Textile & Texture. Order a copy via www.a-plus.be

25/06/2024

Architecture and textile design clearly share certain overlapping work methods and themes. Both disciplines move between occupying space and creating space. And both provide comfort, give shape to everyday rituals and tell stories. But their differences are just as pronounced. Starting from their material conditions and history, each speciality creates other possibilities for the tectonic expression and tactility of the object, and ways of perceiving it.

Text: Eireen Schreurs and Caroline Voet
Images: Filip Dujardin, Dirk Pauwels, Senne Van der Ven, Eefje De Coninck

This article with projects by Lisa Baerschneider, Maison Marie Mees Cathérine Biasino, Nathalie Van Der Massen, Valérie Mannaerts, Edith Dekyndt, Julie Teetaert & Eline Hellemans is featured in A+308 Textile & Texture. Order a copy via www.a-plus.be.

20/06/2024

A+308 Textile & Texture is out now!

This issue pays tribute to the architectural, physical, rough or soft skin of a building or a room. We focus on craftsmanship, the use of materials and technological developments to design a space with a certain atmosphere, warmth and/or acoustics. The featured projects in this issue are lying somewhere at the crossroads between architecture and interior design.

With B-ild, Baukunst, Central, Chevalier Masson, Aslı Çiçek, Flore Fockedey, Générale, HBAAT, Mamout, Valérie Mannaerts, Ono architectuur, Ouest, P**t architectuur, URA and 51n4e.

Get your copy on www.a-plus.be or in selected bookshops.

13/06/2024

Sneak peek! You might have already spotted our new postcards.... Next week we release our latest issue, A+308 Textile & Texture, featuring projects by ono architectuur, B-ild, Baukunst, Central, Chevalier Masson, Aslı Çiçek, Flore Fockedey, Générale, HBAAT, Mamout, Valérie Mannaerts, Ouest, Sarah P**t, Reservoir A and URA.

Available soon online and in selected bookshops.
More info on www.a-plus.be

Image: Mamout, Dailly, Brussels © Séverin Malaud

11/06/2024

A+ has the pleasure of inviting you to an afterwork event on Tuesday the 24th of June. Enjoy an exclusive guided tour of the M127 office building in Antwerp, followed by a talk with ono architectuur, artist Philip Aguirre and landscape architect Ludovic Devriendt, on how their collaboration employed texture, subtlety and tactility to transform a grey police station into a vibrant community centre.
The guided tour and talk will be held in Dutch.

Places for the guided tour are limited! Register via the website www.a-plus.be.

This event will mark the publication of the latest issue of A+ Architecture in Belgium magazine, A+308 Textile & Texture, released on the 17th of June. M127 by ono architectuur is published in A+308, along with other projects by B-ild, Baukunst, Central, Chevalier Masson, Aslı Çiçek, Flore Fockedey, Générale, HBAAT, Mamout, Valérie Mannaerts, Ouest, Sarah P**t, Reservoir A and URA.

06/06/2024

This family home is situated on the edge of the forest, away from the encroaching residential area. Karbon's approach to the renovation of this former farmhouse is marked by simplicity and attention to context. The project aims first and foremost to preserve the existing heritage: what remains of the farmhouse, which was naively and illegally erected, is the starting point of the project.

Read the full article on www.a-plus.be

Photos: Guy-Joel Ollivier
Text: Amélie Poirel

04/06/2024

Traditional or innovative techniques? Architect or contractor? Reuse or self made? Wes Degreef from BC answers our questions!

27/05/2024

In a leafy residential area along the Turnhout-Merksplas road, Felt, in collaboration with Robuust, transformed a charming yet dilapidated villa into a home for sixteen persons in need of care. Although the new residents may feel that their building doesn’t quite fit in here, it blends in well with its surroundings: thanks to its ambiguous roof shape and prudent aesthetics, the housing cluster doesn’t stand out among the vast villas nestled in the greenery. The jagged contour of the rear creates an expression of individuality that makes it easy for residents to find their way, even from the lush garden, to their own space in this large housing community.

This project is featured in A+307 Mixing & Stacking. Order a copy via www.a-plus.be

Photos: Felt, Care Villa, Merksplas. © Olmo Peeters
Text: Tim Peeters

23/05/2024

In Merelbeke, near Ghent, OFFICE designed a family home on the site of a former shoe factory. The original building was characterised by a series of parallel, solid brick walls. The residential project is an extension of this layout: the design is guided by the four parallel walls that define the intervening spaces.

Read the full article on www.a-plus.be

Photos: Bas Princen
Text: Amélie Poirel

16/05/2024

The Club // The third-year Bachelors of the Civil Engineering Architecture study programme at UGent were given the task of designing a nightclub, where they not only had to ensure spatial quality but also, and above all, research the specific subculture of nightlife. The assignment did not have to produce designs of a nightclub for mass entertainment and amusement. Rather, it zoomed in on the temporary, fleeting nature of a nightclub experience, with an architecture that is perhaps at its best when it is least perceptible. Or that at least takes the form of an evocative dream world where the freedom to be who you are is sacred.

This project is featured in A+307 Mixing & Stacking. Order your copy via a-plus.be

Photos: Tanguy Buysse, Hannes De Jaeger, Clara Fernandez, Arthur Herpain, Thomas Maertens, Audrey Thiébaut, Elias Van den Borre, Jens Van Hove, Elise Van Raemdonck
Text: Eline Dehullu

.ugent

15/05/2024

AgwA's project, on rue Mommaerts in Old Molenbeek, is a typical Brussels house with an extension and veranda at the back that needed to be merged. To avoid unnecessary demolition work, the REUSE-REDUCE-RECYCLE approach was chosen, where utilising what is already there was the main focus. By utilising the existing elements and opting for less energy-intensive construction methods, AgwA has once again innovated with timber construction.

Read the article on www.a-plus.be

Photos: AgwA
Text: Amélie Poirel

11/05/2024

Morlanwelz takes pride in two things: its carnival and its Roman frescoes. While the former has been celebrated for more than a century, the latter have just been returned to the public after a three-year restoration process. Designed by Studio SNCDA and the artist Richard Venlet, the new scenography of the Royal Museum of Mariemont brings this masterpiece back from the ashes.

This project is featured in A+307 Mixing & Stacking. Order a copy via the website www.a-plus.be

Photo: © Philippe Braquenier
Text: Eloïse Perrillon

08/05/2024

In this Landegem gallery-house, architect Wim Goes makes every little detail robust. The construction dynamics of wood technology become more visible and tangible. This constructional poetry creates a depth that everyone can relate to physically. Goes also draws on the concept of ‘undoing’, which leads him to see each detail in terms of what it is not. In this way, he is able to intensify the whole, while tempering it.

This project is featured in A+307 Mixing & Stacking. Order a copy via the website www.a-plus.be

Photos: © Eva Faché
Text: Dominique Pieters

06/05/2024

16/05 : Designers’ Day 2024
Open day for all (future) design professionals at Vitra Circle & Rotor DC!

Join us on May 16, 2024, for this inspiring day dedicated to you, creative and committed professionals in architecture, interior design, scenography, decoration… Drop by between 3pm and 8pm and take a behind-the-scenes look at our enterprises dedicated to reclaiming and restoring furniture and finishing materials…

More Info: https://view.news.vitra.com/?qs=def75f596a9cc08a2200c332958be02af423d3c7b48a1f515a48bf40e12d75b90b3e2eb3aafd310e8bda63c989cf69a0a8ba8d6fe8a01956b3a76a4afe51ccd00256dce8f0530ecdd1260e3dbb9ec4e9

02/05/2024

In Europe, the construction sector is responsible for about 40% of greenhouse gas emissions, 50% of energy consumption, 30% of water consumption and 50% of material flows. The figures are widely known, and so are the solutions. We need to make the transition towards a culture of circular construction. This means, firstly, avoiding insofar as possible the construction of new buildings and repurposing the existing building stock; secondly, reusing as many materials as possible and/or turning to reusable, renewable or recycled materials. That, at least, is the theory; now we have to put it into practice. That is why a project like Hi! Site in Grimbergen is so important. Not only is it the first project in Belgium to apply circular principles on a large scale, it also achieves the incredible feat of combining a strong identity with a new aesthetic.

This project is featured in A+307 Mixing & Stacking. Order a copy via the website www.a-plus.be

Photos: © Plusoffice, © Pieter Rabijns

30/04/2024

Built in 1970 on the edge of the Sonian Forest in Brussels, the Royale Belge building, at almost fifty metres high, boasted 83,000 m2 of office space. Although the building has been left virtually intact, Bovenbouw, Caruso St John and DDS+ have given it a new lease of life.

This project is featured in A+307 Mixing & Stacking. Order a copy via the website www.a-plus.be

Photos: © Stijn Bollaert
Text: Christophe Van Gerrewey

24/04/2024

A short interview with a few dilemmas for Swiss architect Mario Botta. Residential or cultural architecture? City or countryside? Church or museum? Social or climate engagement?

Discover his answers in the latest A+ Session!

A small interview with some dilemmas for Swiss architect Mario Botta. Residential or cultural architecture? City or countryside? Church or museum? Social or ...

22/04/2024

Belgian landscape architect Bas Smets received the Ultima for General Cultural Achievement, a career award from the Flemish Community. Smets has been credited for being "a landscape artist who follows the logic of nature". His drawings include the memorial site for the 22 March attacks in the Sonian Forest in Brussels and the design of the surroundings of Notre-Dame in Paris after the fire.

In March 2023, Bas Smets gave a lecture at Bozar at the invitation of A+. Following this, A+ conducted an interview with him on the relationship between nature, stone and the ecology of the city. The interview appeared in A+300: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/4o2k524x5gat8z398pf88/A-305_EN_24_EXTRA-MUROS_Winner_Bureau-Bas-Smets-Luma-Parc-des-Ateliers-Arles_Amelie-Poirel.pdf?rlkey=cz0y538rkvsu819aru5qkfcke&dl=0

In addition, Smets won the Architecture Prize Brussels in the Extra Muros category in 2024 with his project Luma Parc des Ateliers in Arles (F), on which you can read more in A+305: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/4o2k524x5gat8z398pf88/A-305_EN_24_EXTRA-MUROS_Winner_Bureau-Bas-Smets-Luma-Parc-des-Ateliers-Arles_Amelie-Poirel.pdf?rlkey=cz0y538rkvsu819aru5qkfcke&dl=0

Image: ©Michiel De Cleene

19/04/2024

“Wherever you go and wherever you are, you will always encounter foreigners – they/we are everywhere. No matter where you find yourself, you are always, truly, and deep down inside, a foreigner.” - Adriano Pedrosa

The artistic collective Petticoat Government will represent Belgium at the 60th Venice Biennale from 20 April to 24 November 2024. Petticoat Government consists of artist duo Simona Denicolai and Ivo Provoost, curator Antoinette Jattiot, Brussels-based architecture firm Nord (Valentin Bollaert and Pauline Fockedey) and Speculoos' designers and cartographers (Sophie Boiron and Pierre Huyghebaert).

This project is featured in A+306 Building for Culture. Read the article: https://a-plus.be/fr/news/de-ander-dat-zijn-wij/