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Expo: ‘Stadsvernieuwing is mensenwerk’ – Genk – 5 until 19 October

7. Sep 2023
Sledderlo in Genk, Bas Bogaerts, 2022

After Mechelen, Brussels and Oudenaarde, our travelling exhibition ‘Stadsvernieuwing is mensenwerk’ (‘Urban renewal is people’s work’) will make its next stop in Genk. In C-mine, the exhibition is joined by a special Genk exhibition called ‘Genk is mensenwerk’ (‘Genk is people’s work’). The exhibitions will be on show together from 5 until 19 October.

In Genk, many urban renewal projects already saw the light of day. For example, people’s work has transformed the area surrounding the Stiemer valley, the Thor park and the neighbourhood of Sledderlo into more liveable environments.

Moreover, Genk remains to be in transition – to the current day, a lot of local renewal has been taking place in the city: think of the city centre that will undergo a big transformation in terms of greening and heat resilience the coming years.

Some of the urban renewal projects in Genk are included in our exhibition Stadsvernieuwing is mensenwerk. For this expo, photographer Bas Bogaerts travelled around Flanders to capture how urban renewal projects led to new ways of living, working, moving, sharing space, and relaxing. Documentary maker Bertrand Lafontaine did the same in six short films. The exhibition shows how such urban renewal projects do not only invest in infrastructure, but also, and mainly, in people.

Our exhibition will be accompanied by a special Genk exhibition by Joeri De Bruyn and Stad Genk: ‘Genk is mensenwerk’. It is an ode to the inhabitants of Genk, who contribute to a better city every day. The exhibition highlights the plans that are made together with inhabitants, which prepare Genk for the future.

Stadsvernieuwing is mensenwerk will be on show in C-mine, Genk, from 5 October until 19 October. Genk is mensenwerk will also be on view during this period and will be re-opened in November and December. Visiting these exhibitions is free.

During the opening of the two exhibitions on Thursday 5 October, Lene De Vrieze and Joachim Declerck will present Stadsvernieuwing is mensenwerk, through a guided tour and a presentation during the evening program. Sign up for the opening through this link

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WORKROOM

Since 2010, Architecture Workroom Brussels has focused on the future of our living environment. The organisation began as a safe haven to address the link between space and societal transitions, aimed at fostering a futureproof design practice, commissioning and building culture.

It has now become evident that the transformation of our streets, neighbourhoods, and landscapes is both a prerequisite and a lever for achieving societal goals in synergy. Yet we observe that these transformations remain difficult to imagine and implement. They span so many sectors and involve so many actors that responsibility falls on everyone, and therefore, ultimately, on no one.

That is why we make it our mission to create the space that connects them. And with this refined mission comes a new name: WORKROOM, House for transformation. WORKROOM is the shared space where the future of our living environment is not only imagined but also organised.

We are currently taking the lead on three mission-driven transformations:

  • SOCIETAL INCUBATORS - By 2030, stakeholders from the youth, culture, sports, care and education sectors will join forces to create renewed societal spaces that tackle loneliness and counteract the fragmentation and pressure on public infrastructure.
  • FOSSIL-FREE NEIGHBOURHOODS - By 2030, at least ten neighbourhoods will be underway with the transition to fossil-free energy in an inclusive and affordable way, with a view to completely phase-out fossil fuels by 2040.
  • SPONGE LANDSCAPES - By 2030, we will have achieved our water, agriculture and nature goals through a single, coherent approach at catchment area level, in which strong regional coalitions collectively enhance the landscape's sponge capacity.

To make these transformations a reality, WORKROOM works shoulder to shoulder with pioneering designers, local authorities, organisations and businesses, governments, knowledge institutions and impact investors.

Through co-creative design, we imagine shared pathways to the future in exhibitions, publications, innovation programmes and public programmes. These are the workrooms where we connect the actors capable of realising these transformations. From there, we design shared ownership and the organisational, funding and policy models that lead to real change.

The name is simpler. The stakes are higher. WORKROOM is the shared space where we tackle the social and spatial transformations that no one can achieve alone. In an era of polarisation, compartmentalisation and instability, that is perhaps the most radical thing we can do.