July 6, 2016

Autonomous Architecture

“Crossing the narrow spit of land from Leie to Schelde, the land starts to roll, and the road rises past barns and mills, the villages start to detach from each other’s tentacular embrace. Joining the broad modern highway, the road displaces the land as the focus of settlement, its lining of warehouses, showrooms and the odd brick-built textile factory echoing the wide fronts along the Schipdonk canal. As the tall gothic tower of Oudenaarde recedes in the mirrors, the large sheds give way to houses. As the road opens out and the wooded hills approach, one of these houses stands out through its abstract quality, monolithic in grey but textured by its bricks, boards and tiles…”

Autonomous Architecture in Flanders: the Early Work of Marie-José Van Hee, Christian Kieckens, Marc Dubois and Paul Robbrecht & Hilde Daem, Edited by: Caroline Voet, Katrien Vandermarliere, Sofie De Caigny, Lara Schrijver. Published by Leuven University Press, June 2016. The book includes an essay by William discussing light-industrial buildings by the three architectural practices.

Link to publication