Page 19 - AGC_EN_iBook

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I owe the fact that the building has been realized in a manner so close to my aspirations to Emmanuel hazard, AGC’s father of the ‘grand design’ (assisted by Michael Jacques de Diksmuide), to Frederic Van Elst representing the investor AXA, and to the general contractor Van Roey under the technical supervision of Ronny Van Doninck, assisted by André Jacobs and Kyo de Fraeye.
Throughout the design and execution phases, the work was car- ried out with great commitment, with everybody doing their bit. The end-of-work colophon lists all those who, to varying degrees, contributed to the work. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved.
Dr Philippe Samyn, engineer
1 - Christian Norberg-Schutz, Genius Loci, mardaga, Brussels, 1981.
2 - Reading or rereading Niccolò machiavelli’s The Prince (1515) helps everyone gain an understanding of their role.there would have been no Pope Julius II without alexander VI, no Sixtine Chapel, no michelangelo without Julius II.
3 - In my view, Rudyard kipling’s 1910 poem If (either in its original english version or in andré maurois’ masterly translation from 1918) represents the perfect road map of this craftsman, in the twilight of his life, recalling what his father had said to him years ago: ‘. you’ll be an architect, my son!’
4 - Jean-marc Lechat, Naissance de Louvain-la-Neuve. Chronique d’une aventure entrepreneuriale (Presses universitaires de Louvain, 2006).
5 - Below is the complete list of my designs and built projects in Louvain-la-Neuve to date:
two houses, Clos des Blancs moussis (1977-1978; 01/034). Four houses, Clos de la Houssière (1977-1979; 01/044). Design for four houses, Clos de l’argayon (1978-1980; 01/052). Design for three houses, Clos des molons
et tchantchès (1978-1979; 01/054). Chemical Research Centre Shell Louvain-la-Neuve CRCSL (1986-1988; 01/160), extension 1 (1990-1991; 01/244), extension 2 (1990-1992; 01/247), extension 3 design (2001; 01/418). Nissan european technology Centre NeOS (1991-1992; 01/255) and exten- sion (1992-1994; 01/280). Design for the elastomer Systems research centre (1991; 03/204). aula magna (1996-2001; 01/291). Planning studies for the Grand-Place – Lac area (1996-2003; 01/268). Sculpture for NeOS (1993; 01/292). extension of the albemarle laboratories (1997-1998; 01/349). Design for the Fina lling station, Boulevard de Wallonie (1996; 01/345). Design for the cinema complex, Grand-Place (1997; 01/358). Designs for the Louvain- la-Neuve musée du Dialogue (1998, 1999-2001, 2005-2006; 01/376). Design for the NeOS extension (2008; 00/543). Design for the IBW of ce block, Boulevard Baudouin 1 (2009; 01/558). aGC GLaSS euROPe (2011-2013; 01/577). New design for the NeOS extension (01/590).
6 - Lying on a beach in the sun, how high does a sheet of glass need to
be placed for the greenhouse effect no longer to be felt due to the breeze?
7 - Rodolphe el khoury and marc Pasnik, Groupe Frère CNP Headquarters, by Philippe Samyn (Princeton architectural Press, New york, 2004).
8 - Its cuboid shape and its location are the result of the urban plan for the city’s West Zone, between the Grand- Place and the Lake, which I designed together with the aula magna, again under the watchful eye of Raymond Lemaire.the sketch earned me a second ‘Mais voilà !’ when I showed it
to him on 28 December 1996 (Figure 6). the aula magna was designed for the ground plan featured in Figure 7, with its forecourt facing north-east towards the Grand-Place, the rectangular square to the north-west, and its trapezoidal lake bordered by buildings to the south-west.the area remains relatively isolated, bordered to the south and north-west by car parks, a road and a pedestrian bridge, and to the north-east by the foundations of the former musée du Dialogue, which will one day be used otherwise, thus making a square out of what is somewhat presumptuously called Place Raymond Lemaire.
9 - already in conjunction with Filip Descamps and Paul mees from Daidalos Peutz and with Peter Wouters from the BBRI. See also Philippe Samyn and yves avoiron, ‘“La Grande aula” de l’uCL à Louvain-la-Neuve’ (Bulletin de la Classe des Beaux-Arts, Royal academy of Belgium, 6th series, vol. 12, 2002, pp. 99-162).
10 - Jean attali, EUROPA. Conseil européen et Conseil de l’Union européenne. Philippe Samyn, architecte et ingénieur (editions CIVa, Brussels; Lannoo Publishers,tielt; 2013).