Project

G A R D E N — Parckdesign 2012

Parckdesign is a biennale focusing on redesigning green space. Together with atelier le balto and Eric Troussicot, for the 2012 edition Architecture Workroom Brussels was part of the team of curators, and provided technical support to Parckdesign. The aim was to transform derelict residual spaces in Brussels.

 

In previous editions of Parckdesign the accent was mainly on designing urban furniture for existing Brussels parks, but the 2012 edition focused on the reinterpretation of derelict sites, residual spaces and intermediate spaces in Brussels. Using a number of small-scale interventions these sites were transformed to improve quality of life in the city. The curator team's ambition was to closely align the physical interventions with the socio-economic reality of the participating districts in Brussels, Molenbeek and Anderlecht. The team’s aim was to contribute to the construction of a sustainable and open society.

Architecture Workroom Brussels set up a laboratory for interaction in order to stimulate a more social, economic and environment-linked approach for the green public space. To achieve this the team of curators developed a map of opportunities, which highlighted a number of blind spots. These are zones in the city where the traditional green is not easily accessible today. To frame the Parckdesign 2012 event the districts around the southern part of the canal were selected as the work area. A number of sites were designated in this area that formed the testing ground for developing new strategies.

After the sites had been selected, several multidisciplinary teams were appointed to submit project proposals for one or more of the sites. The teams formed partnerships involving landscape designers, artists, architects and designers. The whole thought, design and interaction process culminated in an event in the summer of 2012 with urban, rural, artistic and participative interventions in the public space.

Type: Exhibition, Public intervention

Year: 2012

Commissioning parties: Brussels Environment, Brussels-Capital Region

Partners: atelier le balto, Eric Troussicot

Artists/Designers: Studio Basta, Wagon Landscaping, Collectif Ost & Studio Public & Collectief Etc, Raumlabor, Marjetica Potrc & OOZE, Jeanne van Heeswijk & Marcel van der Meijs Mobiele, Cascoland, 100 Landschafst architektur, Stéphanie Buttier & Sophie Larger, Lara Almarcegui, Ralf Witthaus

 

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2012: Parckdesign — GARDEN

Parckdesign 2012 radically reassesses what we can understand by a park. It is so much more than a traditional park or other forms of cultivated nature. Urban wastelands are central to this outdoor event. Bits of the city where nature, not man rules. A series of artistic interventions show the value these kinds of places have to offer, both for the city as an ecosystem and for local residents. → more

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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.