Celebrating Public Architecture
Description
The Open Call in Flanders (the Dutch-speaking, northern part of Belgium) is more than just another architecture competition: any governmental agency or public institution can choose to work with an Open Call for any given construction project. Since its invention by the first Flemish Government Architect bOb Van Reeth in 2000, more than 700 assignments have been published in this procedure, resulting in almost 350 completed public architectural and infrastructural projects so far. This volume compiles 70 of these, from all over Flanders-from its west coast to the Dutch border in the east-to illustrate the astounding quality of these projects. They prove that public architecture can be daring, thought-provoking, cooperative, and well-done at the same time. The book takes an extensive look at how this procedure works, how it is received by architects, politicians, and clients-and ultimately, at the outstanding public architecture in Flanders as an example for other countries to study closely.
Including buildings by 51N4E, Bovenbouw Architectuur, Compagnie O, Dierendonckblancke, KAAN, Ney & Partners, noAarchitecten, NU architectuuratelier, OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen, RCR Arquitectes, Robbrecht en Daem, Sergison Bates, Eduardo Souto de Moura, Xaveer de Geyter, Zaha Hadid, among others
Reviews / Votes
"The Open Call represents a different way forward, one that public authorities everywhere would do well to learn from." (Oliver Wainwright in: The Guardian , 04/2022, https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/apr/28/flanders-phenomenon-belgian-buildings-joke-genius-greatest-public-architecture-earth-zaha-hadid)
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"The longer essays provide greater depth and critical takes on a procedure worthy of such attention, while the shorter essays bring us back around to the exhibitions that, together with the books, signal the importance of the Open Call in Flanders and the desire for it to continue for another twenty years-and beyond." (John Hill in: world-architects.com , 03/2022, https://www.world-architects.com/en/architecture-news/insight/two-decades-of-the-open-call) ***
"Es liegt hier eine eindrückliche Sammlung von Projekten vor, die beweist, wie wenig Architektur mit dem vermeintlichen Genie-Geist Einzelner zu tun hat und wie sehr sie das Ergebnis eines inklusiven kreativen Prozesses ist, der Planende ebenso einbindet wie Auftraggebende." (David Kasparek in: der architekt , 01/2022, http://derarchitektbda.de/feier-der-teilhabe/)