Ghostwriters of the Young Flemish architecture. Marc Dubois, Christian Kieckens and the Architecture Museum Foundation, 1983-1992

In the early 1980s there were precious few opportunities outside private home building for young architects in Flanders. Government authorities and corporate entities selected a designer for reasons which often had little to do with the quality of the architecture; competitions for public sector contracts were a rarity. Buildings were erected without much ambition or debate; architectural critique was virtually extinct. Remarkably enough, it was in this very climate of indifference that the seeds of present-day Flemish architectural culture were sown. On the one hand, a new generation of architects entered the limelight; and, on the other, initiatives of all kinds emerged from the cultural and academic milieu to lend this young architecture support. The most ambitious example was the Architecture Museum Foundation. Its mission was “to provide a medium for anyone who feels drawn by or to the design of his or her environment.” This yielded all kinds of initiatives such as educational trips, debates, exhibitions and the publication of a magazine. In this section we ask how and to what extent the organisation has been able to fulfil its mission in the course of its brief existence (1983-1992).

ISBN:9789462700673

Publication year:2016

Accessibility:Open