Who? installation by Ivàn Argote at Bruges Triennial 2024 – All photos are by © Filip Dujardin.
Architecture–Until September 1, Bruges Triennial 2024 returns with contemporary art and architecture installations. Themed Spaces of Possibility, the free-to-all and open-air diffused festival is curated by Shendy Gardin and Sevie Tsampalla and questions the architectural potential of the Belgian city. How can we safeguard the liveability of Bruges and cities more generally in a protective way? How do we approach sustainability and change in a UNESCO-protected environment where preservation is central?
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Twelve international artists and architects created site-specific installations that create new connections—between the street and the square, between people and animals, residents and passers-by—to make us reflect on the social, economic, and ecological challenges and opportunities that await us as a society.
“The twelve art and architectural installations not only provide a different view of Bruges but also illustrate how we can deal with space and materials differently in the future.” Explains Shendy Gardin. “The exhibition takes Bruges as a vantage point from which to imagine other possible cities and futures.” Adds Sevie Tsampalla.
Star of the Sea installation by Ivan Morison.
SO–IL has created Common Thread in the garden of the former Capuchin monastery. The architects teamed up with Dr Mariana Popescu (TU Delft) and Summum Engineering to develop a fabric that spans two neighbourhoods and creates a new urban connection. Inspired by Bruges’ history as a centre for lacemaking, the high-tech membrane consists of 3D-printed elements, tubes, and textile segments made from recycled PET bottles.
Common Thread installation by SO–IL at Bruges Triennial 2024 – © Filip Dujardin.
Rotterdam-based Studio Ossidiana has placed its cylindrical Earthsea Pavilion, connecting land and sea, history and nature, in the courtyard of the 15th-century city palace, Hof Bladelin. The 6-metre-wide silo is composed of different materials stacked on top of each other like individual ecosystems. Mixed into the construction are plants and flowers that will transform over time, like the material layers themselves.
Earthsea Pavilion installation by Studio Ossidiana at Bruges Triennial 2024 – © Filip Dujardin.
A visit to the 13th-century Belfry inspired Boonserm Premthada of Thailand’s Bangkok Project Studio to build The Tower of Balance, an 18-metre-high contemporary bell tower with three wooden platforms. The installation visually dialogues with three landmark bell towers nearby. A bronze bell visitors can ring is at the centre of the work, supported by two rough tree trunks.
The Tower of Balance installation by Bangkok Project Studio at Bruges Triennial 2024 – © Filip Dujardin.
Colombian artist Iván Argote installed a pair of bronze boots on the Speelmansrei canal. The boots appear to be walking or standing in a seemingly natural and relaxed posture. As the title suggests, Who? Asks viewers to speculate on the identity behind this sculptural installation. They seem to belong to a larger statue: have the other parts been removed or are they yet to be installed?
Star of the Sea installation by Ivan Morison at Bruges Triennial 2024 – © Filip Dujardin.
British designer Ivan Morison created the Star of the Sea installation. Conceived specifically for the beach of Zeebrugge, it attracts attention from afar with its voluminous concrete structure and curious chimneys. With its cylindrical tubes, triangular inspection chambers and modular parts, the work echoes architectural structures typical of the coast. Is it a bunker, a pavilion or a sandcastle?
With The Joyful Apocalypse, the Brussels architecture firm Traumnovelle is redefining the 13th-century courtyard of the City Halls. A three-storey industrial structure made from industrial materials such as scaffolding, aluminium panels, and silver curtains activates the entire square, elevating it into a temporary stage where every viewer becomes a participant and vice versa.
The Joyful Apocalypse by Traumnovelle at Bruges Triennial 2024 – © Filip Dujardin.
Inspired by the density of Bruges’ street plan, Japanese architects Shingo Masuda and Katsuhisa Otsubo have constructed a new, open ‘place’ for the city in St John’s Hospital Park. Titled Open Drop, the geometric, brick-built sculpture celebrates emptiness in the busy pattern of Bruges. Should architects keep adding to what already exists, or can they think differently about architecture and its place in the world?
empty drop installation by Shingo Masuda+Katsuhisa Otsubo Architects at Bruges Triennial 2024 – © Filip Dujardin.
Sumayya Vally of Counterspace studio pays tribute to Bruges’ rich commercial history with the Grains of Paradise installation. The South African architect created a flock of blackened pirogues blooming with flowers and herbs moored at the Minnewater Bridge. The installation invites us to transcend the Western point of view and to think critically, open-mindedly and beyond national borders.
Grains of Paradise installation by Sumayya Vally at Bruges Triennial 2024 – © Filip Dujardin.
All photos are by © Filip Dujardin, courtesy of Bruges Triennial 2024.
- RELATED STORIES: Read more about Bruges Triennial on Archipanic.
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