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It can also be seen in the project for the
ccb
-
vfb
offices
on the boulevard Poincaré in Brussels
(01-351)
, in the
offices of Jan De Nul in Aalst
(01-401)
and in the Tour
Signal project for La Défense in Paris
(01-533)
. In every
case, the process consists of reflecting natural light gen-
tly back towards the ceiling in the rear of the spaces by
using exterior mirrors placed horizontally on walkways
or awnings on the facade. The treatment of double
facades (such as in the Brussimmo building
(01-225)
or the auditorium of the Erasme Hospital in Anderlecht
(01-270)
) also allows an interior/exterior dialectic to
be expressed. In the project for the European Union
headquarters in Brussels
(01-494)
, the original facade,
made from an assembly of old window frames is, for
safety reasons, held away from a new facade. However,
the light and reflections that are diffused through both
facades, as well as the echo of the various strata of
the composition, provide an unexpected element, as
beyond the conventional sections of the offices is the
large amphora shape of the auditorium, placed at the
centre of an atrium. In the same building, the occupants
have individual control panels that, just as in a theatre,
allow them to modulate the light in each office, ranging
from daylight to the intimacy of semi-dusk. This free-
dom of modulation will give the building’s facades the
appearance of shot silk. On the other hand, the Milly
house in Linkebeek
(01-390)
opens wide only to the
rear facade, while the other three facades are covered
in abundant vegetation. Rather than resembling the
immense garden of the Farnsworth house by Ludwig
Mies van der Rohe, it is more akin to works by Loos,
who advocated the relative anonymity of the visible
exterior, so as to conceal the status of the occupants.
The use of green or textile facades has gradually
become more of a theme in the architecture of Philippe
Samyn. We see this in his project for the reconstruction
of the Au Bon Marché department store in Brussels
(01-265)
, as well as his project for the parliament
building in Tirana
(01-522)
. This is his particular take on
dematerialisation of architecture, and perhaps even a
demonstration of possibilities for recycling.
4
Philippe Samyn’s constructions are rarely coloured,
and are often limited to black and white or to the tones
of the natural materials. As mentioned above, he has
incorporated ‘natural’ linoleum (curiously, this material
1
See Johann Friedrich Geist, Le passage, un type architectural du
xix
e
siècle, Brussels-Liège, Mardaga, 1989.
2
Alfons Hoppenbrouwers, Jan Bruggemans and Jos Vandenbreeden,
Victor Horta: Architectonographie, Brussels,
cnc
, 1975.
3
Here, Philippe Samyn is reviving the Austrian baroque tradition, in
which mirrors often serve to dematerialise or expand the interior space.
Nearer to home, mirrors were used in Art Nouveau architecture in light
wells, one of the movement’s major themes, as well as in the mises en
abyme (facing mirrors) that Horta built into his own house and which we
find in the interior arrangements of the small Saint-Cyr house constructed
by Gustave Strauven in 1903. These examples are given here only to
show the variations on the theme of light that architecture has dreamed
up over the centuries, quite independently of Halls of Mirrors and other
spectacular arrangements.
4
This relative dematerialisation of architecture continues, particularly in
the conceptual works of artists such as Ann Veronica Janssens.
has never been used by the companies that produce
it), and metal frames are often painted white. The
architect has seldom called on painters or colourists,
and his most vivid work is doubtless the large interior
wall of the Houten fire station, discussed earlier, which
incorporates hundreds of children’s drawings. This
experience would be repeated in the retirement home
at Sint-Genesius-Rode, designed in 2007
(01-527)
, as
well as in other projects described in the anthology.
It is as though Philippe Samyn does not want to ‘play
painter’, out of a general respect for plastic creation. His
latest work reflects a change of direction in this regard.
In June 2007, however, following an initial contact and
in collaboration with Alberto Ubertino, the celebrated
Italian creator of Biella fabrics, Philippe Samyn had the
idea of recycling off-cuts of fabrics from the great fash-
ion designers. This allowed him to make what he calls a
‘one-dimensional patchwork’ and to create hangings out
of precious materials. The most spectacular example is
the recent project, mentioned above, for the Tour Signal
at La Défense in Paris, whose vividly coloured facades
contrast with the voids at several levels, which he has
fitted with black walls and ceilings, and white floors.
Other examples include the project for Campodiglio
Due, the municipal offices in Rome
(01-526)
and that
for the complex in Libin-Transinne
(01-518)
.
03-381
‘Random’ one-dimensional patchwork
made from scraps of luxury fabrics
left by mechanical looms. This
assemblage provides the threads for
the weft of a new material for making
hangings and other items.