Since 2000 Vlaams Bouwmeester OPEN CALL OPEN CALL A public principal’s companion Open Call 1 Credits Open Call. A public principal’s companion is a publication of the Vlaams Bouwmeester Team. Concept Peter Swinnen Coordination and production Catherine Robberechts Picture editing Peter Swinnen Texts and interviews Gideon Boie, Stefan Devoldere, Tania Hertveld, André Loeckx Documentation and image archive Pieter Degrendele Cartography Pieter Degrendele, Pierre Stubbe English translations Gregory Ball, Billy Nolan Copy editing Gregory Ball, Catherine Robberechts, Peter Swinnen Design Kim Beirnaert and Pierre Stubbe Print Stevens Print, Merelbeke Photo Credits Stijn Bollaert: pp. 18–63, 106–107, 114–115, 158–159 Karin Borghouts: pp. 98–99 Filip Dujardin: pp. 10–11, 12–13, 78, 196–197, 204–205, 216–217 BEL Architecten bvba: pp. 122–123 de vylder vinck taillieu architects: p. 80 pp. 37–39 © SABAM Belgium 2013 Nothing in this publication may be reproduced or published by means of printing, photocopying or by any other means without the prior written consent of the publisher. The publisher has sought to observe the statutory regulations in respect of copyright, but has been unable to ascertain the provenance of the reproduced documents with certainty in every case. Any party believing he retains a right in this regard is requested to contact the publisher. ISBN 9789040303517 D/2013/3241/354 Registered Publisher Peter Swinnen, Vlaams Bouwmeester, Grasmarkt 61, 1000 Brussels www.vlaamsbouwmeester.be Vlaams Bouwmeester OPEN CALL A public principal’s companion Contents Reflecting on a building culture ............................................................ 7 Peter Swinnen The Open Call 2000–2013: A generous built environment ................17 Stijn Bollaert What visionary principals say ..............................................................65 Tania Hertveld, Stefan Devoldere A public archive .....................................................................................91 Gideon Boie, Stefan Devoldere Three Bouwmeesters and the Open Call. An oral history ..................191 André Loeckx The Open Call in Flanders. Mapping a building culture .................219 Open Call register 2000–2013 .............................................................257 Reflecting on a building culture Since the appointment of the first Vlaams Bouwmeester in 1999, the Flemish government has been continuously working to achieve an excellent architectural policy and exemplary public commissioning practice. Thanks to the Vlaams Bouwmeester Team, broad support for a high-quality building culture has been created in both central and local government. One of the powerful instru- ments the Vlaams Bouwmeester Team uses for this purpose is the Open Call, a negotiation procedure that enables public principals to choose the most effective designer for their project on the basis of a potent social vision. The key Open Call concept is confidence: confidence in a procedure that prior- itises added spatial value, confidence in the expertise of selected designers and confidence in a generous preparatory process in which the public principal is assisted by the Vlaams Bouwmeester and his team. Whereas most tender- ing procedures for buildings and urban master-planning still tend towards the ‘most financially advantageous submission’, our purpose in the Open Call is to concentrate on the socially most advantageous submission. An architectural building culture is after all a pressing social issue. Nothing is so characteristic of a policy as its built heritage and its handling of spatial planning and open space. These are a lasting testament to today’s public governance, the litmus test of a visionary social project. The Open Call deliberately aims for higher goals than the simple relief of needs or compliance with a set of functional requirements. Public principals are guided in the formulation of a project definition in which the social benefits are clearly described and with which inspired designers can then set to work. The result of the Open Call is invariably a ‘master vision’: not a fully developed preliminary plan, but a flexible and intelligent concept. There have so far been 25 Open Calls: amounting to more than 550 unique projects, of which nearly 200 have already been built. Many public principals have made use of the Open Call procedure several times over the years. We consider this not only as an important mark of confidence, but also proof of the steady materialisation of the building culture we are aiming for. By engaging in the Open Call, the public principal proves that he is interested in creating a worthy living environment and pursuing an international quality standard, and 7 Een open beleid met betrekking tot de realisatie van de overheidsgebouwen voor de Vlaamse Gemeenschap en een integer architecturaal kwaliteitsbeleid zijn de kernbegrippen van mijn bekommernis als minister verantwoordelijk voor de huisvesting van alle overheidsdiensten Min Van Grembergen De Open Oproep voor kandidaat ontwerpers is een nieuw en belangrijk instrument om deze beleidszorg te kunnen waarmaken. Ik ben erg blij u het eerste nummer te kunnen aanbieden van een lange reeks publicaties waarin wij u een overzicht bieden van de verrassende ontwerpen die werden ingediend voor ieder project uit de Open Oproep dat reeds werd gegund. Deze publicatie en de volgende maken ook duidelijk welke de belangrijke rol is van de Vlaams Bouwmeester bij de selectie van ontwerpers en welk uitzonderlijk kwaliteitsniveau door de verschillende ontwerpers wordt bereikt. De reeks “Open Oproep” zal op termijn uitgroeien tot het mentaal patrimonium van het Vlaams architectuurbeleid voor overheidsgebouwen. Roerend erfgoed over ons onroerend patrimonium. Dat deze publicaties tegelijk voor vele betrokkenen een aanleiding kunnen zijn tot informatie en debat beantwoordt volledig aan de behoefte om in Vlaanderen te starten met een open architectuurdebat. Zo’n debat is erg belangrijk om te komen tot een ruim maatschappelijk draagvlak voor nieuwe architecturale projecten. Tot slot is deze reeks het teken van een nieuw beleid dat duidelijk laat zien hoe er gekozen wordt en welke keuzes er gemaakt worden. Dit id dus tegelijk een Open Oproep tot debat op basis van een Open beleid. Project document Open Call 01, VRT mediagebouw Radio 2 Hasselt en Kortrijk, Vlaams Bouwmeester, November 2000 8 that he wishes to put his trust in architecture and building culture as crucial instruments in the achievement of his social, economic and ecological aims. So it seemed to be high time that we took a critical yet nonetheless proud look at the whole crop. In the meantime we are already working on Open Call 26, as well as making preparations for future calls. We at the Vlaams Bouwmeester Team hope that this companion will be a true source of inspiration; for the numerous public principals that Flanders boasts, but also for anyone who is sincerely concerned with the development and underpinning of an enlightened building culture. Peter Swinnen, Vlaams Bouwmeester 9 10 Atelier Bouwmeester, 11 February 2013 11 12 Atelier Bouwmeester, 1st March 2012 13 Antwerpen Turnhout Oostende Brugge Sint-Niklaas Gent Mechelen Genk Hasselt Aalst Roeselare Leuven Kortrijk Brussel Open Call 2000–2013, distribution and number of projects 14 Antwerpen Turnhout Oostende Brugge Sint-Niklaas Gent Mechelen Genk Hasselt Aalst Roeselare Leuven Kortrijk Brussel 15 Km 15 THE OPEN CALL 2000–2013 A GENEROUS BUILT ENVIRONMENT Since the Open Call procedure saw the light of day in 2000, at least 550 projects have been published, by now resulting in more than 200 completed buildings: from schools and cultural infrastructure through care environments to administrative buildings and public space. The Team Vlaams Bouwmeester invited the photographer Stijn Bollaert to capture a selection in pictures. 17 18 1301 Kazerne Dossin (Memorial, Museum and Documentation Centre on Holocaust and Human Rights), Mechelen, AWG Architects, 2012 19 20 1301 Kazerne Dossin (Memorial, Museum and Documentation Centre on Holocaust and Human Rights), Mechelen, AWG Architects, 2012 21 1219 ‘Groenlaar’ primary school for special needs, Huiswerk Architects, 2012 23 24 0408 St Ursula primary school, Laken, Architects Tom Thys and Adinda Van Geystelen, 2009 25 0611 Theatre Square, Antwerp, Studio Associato Secchi-Viganò, 2009 27 28 0611 Theatre Square, Antwerp, Studio Associato Secchi-Viganò, 2009 29 30 0229 Bridge over the Albert Canal, Vroenhoven, Ney & Partners, 2011 31 32 0229 Bridge over the Albert Canal, Vroenhoven, Ney & Partners, 2011 33 34 0213 Public library, Beveren, De Smet Vermeulen Architects, 2008 35 1201 Book Tower, Ghent (Henry van de Velde), restoration of university library, Robbrecht & Daem, with Barbara Van der Wee and SumProject, started 2012 37 38 1201 Book Tower, Ghent (Henry van de Velde), restoration of university library, Robbrecht & Daem, with Barbara Van der Wee and SumProject, started 2012 39 40 1610 Kindergarten and depot for parks & gardens dept., Speelpleinstraat, Merksem, 51N4E, 2012 41 1610 Kindergarten and depot for parks & gardens dept., Speelpleinstraat, Merksem, 51N4E, 2012 43 44 0908 ‘Uitzicht’ crematorium, Kortrijk, Souto de Moura Arquitectos with SumProject, 2011 45 46 0908 Looking at Silence, artwork by Pedro Cabrita Reis at ‘Uitzicht’ crematorium, Kortrijk, Souto de Moura Arquitectos with SumProject, 2011 47 0409 ‘De Boerekreek’ sports and recreation centre, Sint-Laureins, Coussée & Goris, with Studiebureau Guy Mouton, 2008