Palimpsest: unfinished past
With the support of:
equinox27
In 2019 Archipel will focus on the theme of PALIMPSEST.
We cannot ignore it: wherever we look, we always find elements that refer to the past. As architects / urban planners we permanently write and rewrite our environment. We carry the past with us and continuously re-shape it towards the future. Unfinished.
On the occasion of the annual theme PALIMPSEST, Archipel invited Sofie De Caigny, director of the VAi, to explain the booklet Unfinished Past.
Sofie De Caigny (1977) has been director of the Flemish Architecture Institute since January 2018 and is Secretary General of ICAM – International Confederation of Architectural Museums. Previously she led the Center Flemish Architectural Archives within the Flemish Architecture Institute. She studied History and Culture Management at KU Leuven and the University of Barcelona. She has published several articles in scientific journals on socio-economic history, the development of the living culture during the interwar period and the architectural culture in Flanders since the 1980s.
In a publication with nine theses on architecture and heritage, the blurring boundaries between heritage and contemporary architecture are examined.
Renovation and restoration projects, the transformation and redevelopment of vacant buildings and sites, compaction operations and repairs to the urban fabric are an increasing part of architectural production.
More and more projects are taking advantage of the existing built environment. The future of the city is increas-ingly determined by what is already there. The booklet examines the new relationship between heritage and contemporary architecture on the basis of nine theses. In order to solve the major issue of the existing building stock, inventiveness is needed. Inventiveness that comes with courage, with willingness to experiment and to take risks. The booklet / Unfinished Past is a call to this.
Anja Hellebaut
The program
- A welcome: by Bruno Vanbesien, chairman Archipel
- A presentation of the program 2019: by Hera Van Sande, artistic director Archipel
- A lecture: by Sofie De Caigny, director VAi
- Thanks: to a number of people who have been important throughout the history of Archipel.
- New Year’s drink: Archipel and Porcelanosa are happy to offer you a glass and a snack as an introduction to the new year.
