Belgium 2021

Title: Composite Presence
Commissioner: Flanders Architecture Institute
Curator: Bovenbouw Architectuur

The exhibition shows a model landscape representing the friction between city and architecture in Flanders. The scenography by Bovenbouw Architectuur shows a piece of urban landscape on a scale of 1/15. Fifty recent projects by 45 contemporary Belgian practices contribute to the imaginary landscape. This selection of projects depicts a healthy architectural ecology in which different styles, functions and typologies coincide. Many of these projects are refurbishments and adaptations, adding up to the variegated experience of form, time and texture. Whether projects are modest reuses or shiny newbies, they all share an interest in contributing to a city that is simultaneously patched up and balanced.

The project selection also reveals the importance of the current policies in Belgium when it comes to city planning and tendering. Many of the designs in this cityscape stem from procedures set up by city architects, the Flemish Government Architect, and related committees and administrations. This model arrangement simulates the negotiated urban environment that has slowly emerged from this field of expertise.