As Found (R-13604)

The tasks for architects today largely consist of interventions in already existing buildings or urban ensembles. The modern dichotomy between architecture and historic preservation, with the former focusing mainly on the design of new buildings and the latter on the restoration of existing buildings in a state of the past, seems today to have given way to a new, more experimental approach in which the narratives and traces to be found in the existing are the inspiration for contemporary interventions. The 'As Found' project aims to explore, highlight and question these new attitudes through four initiatives: 1. The 'As Found' exhibition at De Singel (September 2023 - March 2024). 2. The exhibition book to guide and reflect on the exhibition (publication May 2023, NL/E, publisher VAi) 3. International colloquium 'As Found' (5-7 September 2023), De Singel & Universiteit Hasselt 4. The design-research-expo (title and dates tbc) The project is a collaboration between the Faculty of Architecture and Art at UHasselt and the Flanders Architecture Institute with the aim of inspiring architects, policymakers and clients to break new ground in their relationship with existing buildings and to make a wider audience aware of the power and opportunities we have as a society when we treat the existing built environment with care.

Keywords:Adaptive reuse, Heritage, Preservation, Renovation

Disciplines:Design research, Architectural heritage and conservation, Architectural history and theory, Interior architecture history and theory, Conservation-restoration science not elsewhere classified