19.08 Cas.co Leuven
Much like a monastery, a contemporary artistic institution should be seen as a dispositif of radical interweaving of labour and life, towards
the goal of contributing to the production of contemporary culture and its relation to its
immediate community. As monastic traditions are
very present in Leuven we decided to follow this analogy with conviction.
Following this framework our proposal constructs two rooms with distinct programmatic vocations.The Hard Room will be left as is, only doing minor interventions on lighting, and we propose to dedicate it to temporary projects directly organised by the residents, who can book it with relative ease. The Soft Room is a new construction in the main space of Cas-Co, a room within the room made of regular white concrete bricks. This room is a simple rectangle which, in its geometric banality, and proportional refinement, offers maximum flexibility of interpretation. Its quasi domestic
materiality and the simple addition of a
bench around its perimeter will allow this simple shape to be inhabited in many different ways. We propose to use this room for a more formalnprogram of exhibitions and events but also constitute a shared lived space for the residents. Here they can eat, sleep, have informal talks. In this way the exhibition space will not just be a place for objects and one time experiences but
the fulcrum of a shared creative experience which will be woven in time.
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Much like a monastery, a contemporary artistic institution should be seen as a dispositif of radical interweaving of labour and life, towards
the goal of contributing to the production of contemporary culture and its relation to its
immediate community. As monastic traditions are
very present in Leuven we decided to follow this analogy with conviction.
Following this framework our proposal constructs two rooms with distinct programmatic vocations.The Hard Room will be left as is, only doing minor interventions on lighting, and we propose to dedicate it to temporary projects directly organised by the residents, who can book it with relative ease. The Soft Room is a new construction in the main space of Cas-Co, a room within the room made of regular white concrete bricks. This room is a simple rectangle which, in its geometric banality, and proportional refinement, offers maximum flexibility of interpretation. Its quasi domestic
materiality and the simple addition of a
bench around its perimeter will allow this simple shape to be inhabited in many different ways. We propose to use this room for a more formalnprogram of exhibitions and events but also constitute a shared lived space for the residents. Here they can eat, sleep, have informal talks. In this way the exhibition space will not just be a place for objects and one time experiences but
the fulcrum of a shared creative experience which will be woven in time.
Location: Leuven, Belgium -
www.cas-co.be
Year: 2019
Status: Open competition - realized
Alessandro Bava with A402studio
Photo credits:
Matthijs van der Burgt
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