BELGIUM 065


Above The De Prinsendam apartment complex in Amsterdam was also developed by Tony Fretton


Top left The new town hall for Deinze was designed by Tony Fretton


Left A view of one of the balconies within the De Prinsendam complex


client. Over 700 Open Calls have been made, and over half of them have been realised. Once the handful of design teams are chosen (three to seven are usually selected based on their portfolios, architectural statements, and other qualifications) two briefings are held, one on-site. Te process has ten distinct stages. Entrants are required to have a minimum of one realised project in their portfolio. Te procedure is anonymous until the shortlisted practices meet the jury for interview. Te government architect is required to select a diverse range of approach and a mix of established and young agencies. Recognising that in most cases ideas will be substantially modified during client discussions, proposals are more of intent than full preliminary designs. Each shortlisted firm receives the same amount of money to cover the costs of making a submission. Appointed in 1999, the first government architect, Bob Van Reeth, had plenty of experience of competition, hence his belief that the usual focus on a finished design was a mistake. Tat led him to set up the system


‘It was the insistence on dialogue that he established between the various parties to a project that has proved its continued success’


with its emphasis on ‘project definition’ together with an appreciation of ‘the cultural dimension’ of public building. It was in his search for diversity of approach that he always included talented young designers and firms from outside of Belgium. Striking a balance has not always been easy but the built results have justified the policy. His standpoint on experience that ‘you do not need to have designed three schools to be able to build a good one’ has proved sound. In the eternal search for quality, it was the insistence on dialogue that he established between the various parties to a project that has proved its continued success. Tere is no aesthetic approach, no style, and no replicable exterior characteristics, but rather there are ‘inner values’ of simplicity, immediacy and suitability, together with some ambiguity, that appear to have consistently triumphed. Before the 1980s, there was no Belgian building culture, the most important architects being mavericks like Victor Horta, Henry van de Velde, Juliaan Lampens and Lucien Kroll. Nothing much connected them.


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