Museum of Architecture and...
At the end of June, the Museum of Architecture and Design opens a visiting exhibition of architects 51N4E, which will last until September 2. The exhibition is being prepared in cooperation with the Flemish government.
Exhibition Double or Nothing primarily reflects the fundamental starting point of 51N4E. It is necessary to develop the situation to the extreme, to go beyond the required program in order to change behavior, provoke encounters and increase the scope of influence of public space. 51N4E places urban and social themes at the center of all its activities and refuses to bow to the trend of excessive expression of the materiality of architecture, which has dominated architectural production in recent decades - this can be clearly seen in the self-referential architecture that invades urban space (and critics) - and stands on the edge of the marginalization of the architect as a "designer", maker of beautiful or spectacular buildings. All their projects, from an urban plan for a city neighborhood to a simple transformation of a modest house, express the desire for a new orientation and for a new opening of the field of architecture.
The title of the exhibition also points out that every project is a commitment between client and architect, but this mutual commitment must acquire a special dimension if the goal is to influence behavior and enrich urban reality. This means a willingness to go beyond and even change the initial program so that the response can also be a factor that enriches collective life. Double or Nothing is a way to present this common ambition and to emphasize the architect's ability to get as many clients as possible to think outside the usual frameworks and to study innovative solutions that would give architecture its true dimension and become a respectable social art.
Exhibition curator: Dominique Boudet
Companion program
Thursday, June 28, at 5 p.m.: Lecture by Freek Persyn
