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18
figures of Auguste Perret and Le Corbusier. Other
examples of the brutalist aesthetic can be found in the
best creations of the new French and English architec-
ture. To measure how far Philippe Samyn has come, it
is interesting to compare the Waterloo Athénée with
the 2007 competition project for a kindergarten and
primary school in Belval Sud, Luxembourg
(01-521)
.
Here, the building’s integration into the site is more
asymmetrical and takes into account the development
of a new quarter, for which he extends the main axes
and respects (though maintaining his signature) the
small scale. Twenty-five years on, his language seems
to have adopted a certain neutrality, and at times is
reminiscent of organic architecture. Philippe Samyn’s
modest work at the Athénée was the first in a series
of projects where he encouraged clients to enlarge or
correct the boundaries of their land – as is the case
with the Nissan research centre at Louvain-la-Neuve
in 1991–1994
(01-255, 01-280 and 01-292)
or for the
Duval-Leroy warehouses at Vertus-en-Champagne in
2006
(01-506
, project still confidential
)
. We also see
projects where he thinks that a construction requires a
decisive intervention in the urban landscape, as is the
case with the immediate and not-so-immediate sur-
roundings of the Aula Magna in Louvain-la-Neuve
(01-291 and 01-268)
.
Archetypical themes can be found in the projects for
and constructions of freestanding or semi-detached
houses, where Philippe Samyn works within the
strong, pre-existing context of the semi-traditional
construction and forms. Rather than seeking to create
unique, extraordinary works, the architect modestly,
clearly and with the strictest means possible, makes
use of the forms and spatial structures that are
naturally present in the environment without being
over-accommodating or falling into cliché. Thus several
archetypical silhouettes combine to form a rather spare
geometric composition. Samyn designed a number of
homes in Brussels and its suburbs in this way, includ-
ing the Bogaert house no. 2
(01-056)
. Similarities
are also evident, whether conscious or not. Though
Samyn claims he was not familiar with them, the small
group of houses in Louvain-la-Neuve
(01-044
) and the
Boulanger house in Ohain
(01-036)
seem close to Paul
Van Aerschot’s structures and morphologies from the
same period, particularly in the way interior space is
defined through a dynamic play of diagonals, creating
unexpected but perfectly controlled perspectives.
In 1973, the oil crisis brought a slowdown in new
construction activity and turned the spotlight onto the
virtues of renovation and restoration. It also initiated a
new line of thinking that is today beginning to bear fruit.
One of its central themes is the physics of construc-
tion, accompanied by research into the rational use of
energy and the battle against certain types of waste. As
Chapter 5 attempts to demonstrate, this is one of the
crucial directions of Philippe Samyn’s philosophy.
4
With
Philippe Samyn’s early work, it is clear that one is in the
presence of an architect who investigates the means
and structural morphology of both architecture and
construction, as much in terms of spatial and technical
design as the landscaped treatment of the composition
– in the fullest sense of the word.
The historic rue du Marais in Brussels presents us with
a particularly difficult context. A narrow and relatively
winding street, it connects the rue Montagne aux
Herbes Potagères and the rue du Fossé-aux-Loups
with the boulevard du Jardin Botanique. At one time
it was a residential street where, in the eighteenth
century, small corbie-gabled dwellings alternated with
townhouses. Along the length of the rue du Marais,
all kinds of structures have replaced the old buildings.
The headquarters of the Caisse Générale d’Epargne
et de Retraite was constructed in three phases by
three different architectural companies beginning in
1952. A little further down the street, the Gatti de
Gamond school was reconstructed immediately after
the Second World War. On the other side of the street,
as well as nineteenth-century banks and a few old
houses, one finds classic public housing units built
by the Foyer Bruxellois, and Roger Bastin’s Facultés
01-255
Nissan technical research centre,
Louvain-la-Neuve, 1991–1994
01-200
Offices for the Boulanger
real estate company, Waterloo, 1988