North North West : noAarchitecten - Grafe, Christoph; Bates, Stephen; Vandermarliere, Katrien; T'Jonck, Pieter (Amsterdam : Architectura + Natura, 2014)
A contemplative study room for students in Hasselt turns out to have been a prison cell. A facade introduces reading into the city and gives the Plantin-Moretus Museum collection a (protective) face. In their projects, noAarchitecten try to go beyond the visual experience to arrive at an all-round spatial experience. NoAarchitecten have been able to create a form profile for themselves from the very beginning, with both notable small buildings and several large-scale public buildings including the Petrol electricity cabin in Antwerp and the spatial metamorphosis of Menen town hall. In the course of time a seemingly intuitive design approach transformed into a proper design strategy. noAarchitecten takes up a position subtly reconciling the principal, the building/assignment and the future user. The firm sometimes even opts for different approaches within a single building. The result is contradiction and complexity. An ambiguity which this collective explores by means of a meticulous plan and a precise selection of colours and materials. This architecture is never neutral. It is intended to uplift, but never becomes pedantic. It is specific, offers a tailormade location and gives an almost ritual dimension to everyday actions. This First Issue of the Architecture Magazine North North West is designed by Hans Gremmen. Exhibition deSingel Antwerp, 26 9 2014 - 4 1 2015. noAarchitecten was established in 1999 by Philippe Viérin, An Fonteyne and Jitse van den Berg and is one of the leading architectural offices from Belgium.(from publisher)
Encounters, deSingel, Antwerp, 2014 (26-9-2014 - 4-1-2015)
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