North north west
Subtitle: noAarchitecten
By: authors, Christoph Grafe, Stephen Bates, Katrien Vandermarliere, Pieter T'Jonck ; translation Dutch-English, Gregory Ball ; translation English-Dutch, Hilde Pauwels
Contributors: Bates, Stephen, 1964- author; Vandermarliere, Katrien, author; T'Jonck, Pieter, author; Ball, Gregory, 1953- translator; Pauwels, Hilde, translator
Publisher: Architectura & Natura Press
Published: 2014
Place of publication: Amsterdam
Language: eng; dut
Number of pages: 160
ISBN-13: 9789461400451
Subjects: Catalogs; Architecture; NoAarchitecten
Description: Brussels based 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. 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. 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.
Notes: English and Dutch.