Basic HTML Version
304
#
01-379
OFFICES FOR THE
COMPAGNIE IMMOBILIÈRE
DE WALLONIE (ESPACE
CHRISTIAN DOTREMONT)
/ NIVELLES
(WALLOON BRABANT PROVINCE)
/ 1998–1999
/ 2000–2001
This suite of offices, which can be subdivided at will,
is built on the site of a former motor racing circuit. At
the suggestion of the musician Henri Pousseur, it was
named after Christian Dotremont, the famous founder
of the Cobra art movement, created in 1948 after the
break-up of the Belgian Revolutionary Surrealist group.
Frescoes by Yves Zurstrassen adorn the tympanums
in the various wings, and the peaceful harmony of the
complex, built in the middle of the countryside, is com-
pleted by the sound of an electronic carillon designed
by Pousseur. Both Zurstrassen and Pousseur were
invited by Philippe Samyn to participate in this project.
Pousseur’s composition, entitled Le Village planétaire
has since been published. The complex distinguishes
itself from the current model of this type of programme
(offices built in far-flung suburbs) by the clarity and mod-
esty of its structure, and by a rejection of both regional-
ism and an obvious monumentality, which would be out
of place here. For Anne Norman, who interviewed the
architect and wrote an excellent commentary on this
complex, the Espace Christian Dotremont is an anti-
palace, and more closely resembles an industrial estate
on a human scale. The low height of the building and
the use of French windows and balconies eliminate the
inconveniences associated with fire escape routes. In
addition, the balconies constitute a protective element
for the wood. The two-storey limit allows all of the park-
ing spaces for the complex to be placed beneath the
structure, much to the benefit of the surrounding land-
scape. Potential users were given an assembly kit to
indicate their requirements in the new terms of building
(a technique that was used at one time by participatory
architecture). Thus, as in later projects in which Philippe
Samyn developed the ‘hamlet’ concept, the scale of
this complex remains relatively modest. The landscap-
ing conceals the cars from view.