Hasta La Ideas

From certain angles this performance centre in Belgium has a colourful stripy facade, but from others it appears camouflaged amongst the surrounding trees (+ slideshow).

Designed by Spanish architect Carlos Arroyo, the Academie MWD is a school of music, theatre and dance at the Westrand Cultural Centre, which is located within a suburban neighbourhood in Dilbeek, outside Brussels.

The architect wanted to come up with a design that mediated between the Westrand building to the west, gabled houses to the east and woodland to the north. “The question was how to harmonize the different situations, and at the same time produce a building with a quality of its own,” he says.

Arroyo added a system of louvres to the facade so that, like a lenticular image, the appearance differs depending on the viewing angle.

When facing north-east visitors see a life-size image of trees but when facing south-west they see a mixture of blues and greys that capture the colours of the adjacent building, designed in the 1960s by Belgian architect and painter Alfons Hoppenbrouwers.

Viewing the building straight-on reveals yet another image; a spectrum of colourful stripes and rectangles that are derived from one of Hoppenbrouwers’ paintings, while the rear of the building is clad in a similar variation of metal panels with contrasting finishes.

To reference the nearby houses, the massing of the building is broken up into an irregular series of gables. ”The new building is a soft transition between the scale of the houses and the imposing presence of CC Westrand,” says Arroyo.

The entrance is located beneath a chunky cantilever that contains the main auditorium and theatre, while studios, practice rooms and classrooms are spread across two floors at the other end of the building.

Other brightly coloured buildings on Dezeen include a kindergarten with rotating facade panels and a public passage and gallery with a large stained glass window.

See more cultural buildings on Dezeen »

Photography is by Miguel de Guzmán.

Here’s some more information from Carlos Arroyo:

Academy of Music, Word and Dance in Dilbeek, Belgium

The west part of the Dutch speaking belt around Brussels has an informal cultural capital in Dilbeek, home of the Westrand Cultural Centre and its various facilities. The Academie MWD reinforces this polarity, offering education in music, theatre and dance, as well as an auditorium-theatre.

The Urban Challenge

The new building is located in the centre of Dilbeek, in a difficult context with a variety of contrasting situations: south, the main square (Gemeenteplein) with the City Hall and local restaurants; west, CC Westrand, with its monumental volumes designed by A. Hoppenbrouwers at the height of Brutalism; north, Wolfsputten, a protected area of natural forest; and east, a compact group of suburban villas with pitched roofs following the archetypal image of the farm.

The question was how to harmonize the different situations, and at the same time produce a building with a quality of its own.

First, with the volume. The new building is a soft transition between the scale of the houses and the imposing presence of CC Westrand.

Then form. The gables along the street reflect the houses on the other side, but then become a great cantilever that looks CC Westrand face to face.

Thirdly, with function. The only entrance is on the side of Westrand. Nothing happens in the other perimeters, being either domestic or natural. It is only on the side facing the cultural centre, where the auditorium rises from the ground, creating a covered public space leading to the academy entrance.

Finally, with image. The dynamic facade creates an optic effect. If you walk towards trees you see trees. It is an image of Wolfsputten. If you walk in the opposite direction, see the colours Hoppenbrouwers. Alfons Hoppenbrouwers, architect of CC Westrand, was a colour expert. He spent much of its time painting, and in fact, the facade of the new building, as you walk towards that of Hoppenbrouwers is based on one of his paintings. His two-dimensional work is a combination of mathematics and colour. Lines, measure, proportion, geometry, rhythms, colour and texture. Those are also the ingredients of the music, and in fact several of his paintings are interpretations of musical pieces, e.g. the one that composes the elevation of the Academie. It is the Canon for 36 voices by the 15th century Flemish polyphonist Johannes Ockeghem.

The rest of the elevations reproduce the same rhythms, but in metal panels with different finishing textures, reflecting the sky and the forest.

Function and Flexibility

As the cantilevered auditorium rises above the covered public space, a transparent entrance leads to the main lobby. This is therefore at the centre of the building, which facilitates the separation of the public functions of the auditorium and the more intimate function of the Academy. Both share the main services, reception, cloakroom, toilets and dressing rooms, which are also connected directly to the auditorium stage at the top level.

The classrooms, ballet and orchestra room are arranged on two levels with a central spine which includes the structure, technical services, and circulation, along a corridor that is wide enough to manoeuvre grand pianos and reorganize the function of the classrooms.

Above: ground floor plan – click to see larger image

People

Place making is one of the keys of the project. The covered public space below the auditorium is a clear example: even before the building was finished, this space has been used by local associations in weekend activities. Inside, the lobby can be used for receptions, which may be supported from the teacher’s kitchen through a direct door.

At the other end of the building there is another clearly recognizable place, a double staircase with benches and forest views. It’s easy to imagine people sitting on the benches, perhaps waiting for a lesson to start, or for someone to finish their practice, or just talking.

Above: first floor plan – click to see larger image

Energy and resources

Volume and thermal inertia: The compact form reduces the surface/volume ratio and energy loss. The thin load-bearing walls are visible inside the building, providing good thermal inertia, and covered with a thick blanket of continuous insulation on the outside, where it is most efficient. The separating walls between classes are also massive both for the thermal inertia as for necessary soundproofing.

Above: section – click to see larger image

Natural light: The windows are arranged to provide just the right amount of diffuse daylight, while minimising thermal losses. The fins on the southeast facade capture light, reflecting it inwards with different angles. The interiors are white so as to reflect light in all directions. Even the auditorium can function with only natural light.

Construction materials were selected to ensure maximum respect for the environment. The horizontal structure is laminated wood, fully FSC certified. The construction details are simple, no covering materials: the finish is simply white paint, showing the texture of the material on which it is applied. Rainwater is harvested on the roofs and used for the flushing toilets.

The Academie MWD opened on September 8, 2012.

Above: elevation – click to see larger image

Architect: Carlos Arroyo Arquitectos, Madrid
Associate Architects: ELD partnership, Antwerp
Structure: Norbert Provoost, Ghent
Engineering: Ingenium, Bruges
Contractor: Kumpen
Site manager: Pieter Broekaert
Client: City of Dilbeek

Situation: Dilbeek, Belgium
Surface: 3554.76 m2
Proj. budget: 5.3 M €
Final cost: 5.4 M €
Competition: 2006 Open Oproep
Construction: December 2010 – April 2012
Inaugurated: September 8, 2012

The post Academie MWD by
Carlos Arroyo appeared first on Dezeen.

Narrow slits provide entrances to this circular pavilion by Belgian artist Wesley Meuris outside the Flemish town of Borgloon.

Called Memento, the white structure has a smooth exterior and a tiled interior.

The square tiles are in relief, creating different textures and shadows as the sun moves across the sky.

The two slender gaps cast sundial-like shadows around the circle and allow the evening sun to stream in.

Situated on a slope, the pavilion looks out over the central graveyard in the medieval town of Borgloon.

The project is one in a series of permanent structures for public spaces in the Haspengouw region, instigated by the Z33 gallery. Other completed projects include a doughnut-shaped pavilion and a see-through church.

Photography is by Kristof Vrancken.

Here’s some more information from Z33:

Memento is a sculpture at the Central Burial of Borgloon. The artwork of Wesley Meuris is an anchor point in the sloping landscape and invites visitors to step in.

The architectural structure of the work provides a special experience of looking and dwelling. The steel built space can be interpreted in many ways by the visitor and challenges the imagination.

Whoever is in the room experiences the intimacy. This reflects the memory of its surroundings.

Initiated by De Nieuwe Opdrachtgevers.

Official opening: May 4th, 2012

On display: permanent from May 5th, 2012

Location: Central Burial of Borgloon, Lambertusstraat, Borgloon

The post Memento by
Wesley Meuris appeared first on Dezeen.

Belgian studio EXAR Architecture have replaced walls of brick and plaster with glass and Corten steel on this extension to a suburban house outside Brussels.

The new elevation is located at the rear of the house, where it projects towards the garden to increase the size of the ground-floor kitchen and first-floor bathroom.

Glazed walls slide open to connect the kitchen with the terrace outside, while a tall window upstairs offers a view out from a new shower area.

Other Belgian residences we’ve featured include a house with a facade of wooden sticks and an apartment in a listed building.

See more projects in Belgium »

Photography is by Marc Detiffe.

Here’s some text from EXAR Architecture:

The previous house offered tiny opening to the garden. The “back” rooms, kitchen, bathroom, previously considered as services, blocked the views from the house to the nice garden.

We decided to keep these functions but to open them widely, by creating large windows.

The kitchen – dining room offers an large open view to the vegetation. The bathroom has focused view to the trees.

Using an architectural expression counterpointing the existing style, we wanted to reinforce the coexistence between modern and old.

The steel by its delicacy and precision permits to create pure lines and deepness.

To obtain this dynamic, the steel structure is integrated to the thickness of the floor, and one tiny column present the angle of the former construction.

Finally, the choice of the corten, as finishing, brings softness, deepness and answer to the vegetation, by expressing the time going.

This glass house by Belgian architects Govaert & Vanhoutte has a 50-metre-long wall at the back and a sunken swimming pool at the front.

Located in one of the forests surrounding Bruges, the house is long and narrow and contains staggered storeys that descend below the ground.

The swimming pool is located at the lowest level and is tucked into a recessed corner of the building.

Doors leading into the house are as high as the walls and are difficult to spot when closed.

Inside, a long ramp slopes up from the main living and dining room towards children’s bedrooms that are half a storey above, while cantilevered stairs lead down into a second living room and master bedroom.

Another ramp outside the building provides access to a car park below.

We’ve featured a few houses in the past that are almost entirely glazed. See one in Germany here and one in Sweden here.

Photography is by Tim Van de Velde.

Here’s a little more information from Govaert & Vanhoutte:

Villa Roces

Villa Roces is integrated in an oblong terrain of about 70m long and 30m wide, situated in the forest surroundings of Bruges.

The concept consists of a 50 m long and a 4.20 m high wooden wall flanking 6 m wide glass box is disposed.

The house is built along a wall with the intention to meet the lack of light and reflect the presence of the forest, the verticality of the trees, etc.

The 54m long wall functions as a background for the transparant volume in front.

The wall is not only visible at the outside, but also continuously visible at the inside.

As the transparent volume is conceived as a box, the inside space is filled in with clearly defined boxes and volumes and incorporate the structural elements.

The glass box is indented at three sides:

• One to give access to the underground parking place
• One to develop the half underground swimming pool
• And one to give access, at the backside of the house, to the master bedroom and annex bathroom

The plan concept is very simple:

1. On the level of the garden there is the income, kitchen, dining room and fireplace situated. The kitchen can be separated from dining room with a big sliding door.

2. The bedroom section of the children and the master bedroom are situated one above the other and put in split-level with the living room which has one and a half height

3. In front of the master bedroom we have a secondary sitting room which spatial makes the conversion to the handled levels.

4. A slope guarantuees the connection between the living room and the bedroom section of the children.

5. By handling the explained levels and heights we could maintain a continuously horizontal box which was of main importance to be put in contrast to the verticality of the trees.

6. Under the living room and kitchen is the underground parking situated. To put this underground was also of main importance in order to reduce the build volume above the ground level, this in relation to the disposable space and give the house the visual impression of a big pavilion.

Challenging machismo through hypnotically vibrant thread installations

Growing up as a boy in Mexico, Gabriel Dawe was forbidden to explore the artistic elements of textiles and embroidery, an area thought to be reserved for women. Nevertheless, the color and intensity of Mexican culture began to appear in his artwork after moving to Montreal in 2000. Now based out of Texas, the mixed media artist has made a career out of the mind-bending thread installations that compose the “Plexus” series.

Citing artist Anish Kapoor as a major influence, Dawe creates complex, colorful and often vertigo-inducing spatial structures, which are meant to evoke the invisible forces that shape our existence—such as social norms and expectations—and to draw our attention to the invisible order amidst the chaos of life. On a much more superficial level, the installations are visually beautiful, and seem to make the intangible visible.

As he prepares for the solo show “The Density of Light” at Lot 10 in Brussels, we spoke to the artist about process, masculinity and the peculiarities of light.

What is it like to approach a new installation space?

My work consists of devising the arrangement of the structure I’m going to make with the thread. These installations are site-specific, which means that every new installation has to be created for that particular space. They also have to be done in the space itself, which means that I cannot create them in advance and then transport it.

The process begins with some sort of dialog with the space where the installation is going to be. Every room has particularities that offer possibilities and restrictions to what I can do. Once I decide where to put the wood structures that hold the hooks that serve as anchor points, I start to devise how and in what sequence I am going to link those anchor points, as well as what color progression I will use. It’s usually a lot of planning, so that when I get to the space I can execute my plan as seamlessly as possible.

Can you tell us a bit about the process and the thread that you use?

The thread is regular sewing thread, 100% polyester, and it comes in a wide variety of colors, so I don’t do any of the dyeing myself. Usually each color is a unique long piece of thread, held in place by mere tension. Sometimes I use more than one spool of a certain color, but I just tie together the ends and continue with the installation. The color mixing really occurs in the space, a byproduct of the process. Plexus no. 9 has 5,000 meters of each color, a total of 60 kilometers, which comes to about 37 miles.

How do these new pieces for the “Density of Light” exhibit differ from your previous work?

Because this work is not a studio practice and it relies on having to work in different spaces, every new installation offers the opportunity to try something new, or a different variation of something I’ve already tried. In this way, they are constantly evolving and changing. The particularities of Lot 10, (where 13 and 14 will be) allow me to revisit certain structures I’ve worked on in the past, but with a new variation that will give them a distinct look.

For Plexus no. 13, I’m doing three intersecting structures, similar to No. 6, but with three big differences: the proportions are much different; the placement of the wooden structures, which are at a different angles; and the color sequence. Plexus no. 14 will be a take on one of my very first ideas, which until now I hadn’t had a chance to try.

What about the name, “The Density of Light”?

Very early on in the series, the idea of light became an intrinsic part of these installations. Because I use regular sewing thread on an architectural scale, the structures created are ethereal and diaphanous. I think of them as existing in a space between the material and the immaterial; or like some sort of alchemical experiment where I attempt to materialize light.

How do you see your work as challenging gender roles?

My challenge against machismo was much more obvious when I started to work with embroidery which was expressly forbidden to me as a boy. It is also very present in some of my work within the “Pain” series, where I deconstruct pieces of clothing and I cover them with pins. As my work has evolved, I’ve continued with that thought in mind, but in a more broader sense, exploring social constructs of gender and how we constantly deal with them on a day to day basis.

Gabriel Dawe’s next installation “The Density of Light” will be shown at Lot 10 Galerie in Brussels from April 12 to June 9.

Images courtesy of the artist, Kevin Todora (Plexus no. 4, no. 3), Mike Metcalfe (Plexus no. 5), and Carlos Aleman (Plexus no.12).

Lot 10 Galerie

15 rue Lanfray

1050 Brussels, BE