Baukunst

Baukunst, the art of building. Adrien Verschuere resolutely answers an age-old architectural question: It often takes no more than a roof to talk about a building. Architecture distils itself from this in its search for added value. BAUKUNST does not want to make this distinction in order to be able to categorize buildings, this distinction is their mission statement. The location and the programme always mean the start of a project and are of vital importance, but it is the design process that starts the search for architectural solutions.

The added value we are talking about comes in various forms. A building could say something about our society, it could allude to its surroundings. An architect can change the status of a space, a place. Buildings can enter into a relationship with architectural history and/or be well prepared for the future.

BAUKUNST focuses on a number of themes in their design process. From the very beginning of an assignment, for example, images and collages are used to explore the intentions and subtleties of the assignment. In this way, the principles for the design can be considered without any practical difficulties that come with a plan. This is in contrast to a rendering that is made afterwards. They also have a very conscious relationship with architectural history. This provides us with a wonderful repertoire of situations, shapes, typologies and conditions. These should not be seen in a nostalgic way as a source of inspiration, but as an unlikely potential for new interpretations. Much like a musician interpreting a piece of music and letting his or her vision shine on it. This way BAUKUNST comes to a design method that is based on the assembly of elements and spaces.

BAUKUNST was founded in 2008 by Adrien Verschuere. He graduated from the ISA St-Luc Tournai and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. The architectural firm is based in Brussels and has ten employees.

MATTER OF ARCHITECTURE

The matter of architecture not only refers to the pragmatic idea of architecture, but also to the added value that is created and felt within what is built. The AUDITORIUM 18/19 lecture series represents a spectrum of architecture and matter as such: what is ‘built’ as a physical materiality, what is ‘not built’ as space, light and time, and ‘the poetic’, ‘the metaphysical’ in search of the essence of architecture. Seven selected speakers bring a comprehensive story.

CURATORS: Lukas Versteele, Miep Linssen, Ruben Hoet / PARTNERS: STUK Kunstencentrum, KU Leuven dep. architectuur, Existenz / SUPPORT: City of Leuven, the Government of Flanders / SPONSORING: Febelcem, ASSA ABLOY Entrance Systems, Vandersanden Group, A+ Architecture in Belgium