Understanding Excellence: Flemish Architecture Featured in Frankfurt Show
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Contemporary architecture in the so-called “Low Countries”—Flanders and the Netherlands—takes center stage in the new show at DAM Deutsches Architekturmuseum Frankfurt. The region has a long tradition of excellence in the industry, witnessing its grea
Understanding Excellence: Flemish Architecture Featured in Frankfurt Show
Contemporary architecture in the so-called “Low Countries”—Flanders and the Netherlands—takes center stage in the new show at DAM Deutsches Architekturmuseum Frankfurt. The region has a long tradition of excellence in the industry, witnessing its greatest peak in the recent past with the era of “Superdutch” in the 1990s, when the Netherlands was hyped as the new architects’ Hollywood, courtesy of its high density of exceptional architects such as Rem Koolhaas and his office OMA. Although the “Superdutch” boom with its often spectacular international commissions never fully recovered from the crisis years of 2007 and 2008, the movement and its protagonists laid the groundwork for the exceptional architecture practiced in the region today—as the DAM aims to illustrate with its survey show, featuring projects from the past 30 years.“Maatwerk,” the title of the exhibition, alludes to one of the core features of this architectural culture shared across the Dutch and Belgian border. ‘Custom-made,’ as the term loosely translates to in English, highlights the architect’s prominent role in all phases of the realization of a new building, both with respect to its creation and its relation to its surroundings. Be it in public or private projects, crafts, aesthetic sensitivity and continuity feature strongly in this philosophy of building, which was documented for the show in a new series of photographs by Michiel De Cleene and Stijn Bollaert.Featured firms include stars such as Cincinnati Art Museum Architects Neutelings Riedijk Architects; the former and first female Chief Government Architect of the Netherlands Liesbeth van der Pol; late furniture designer and architect Maarten Van Severen, as well as younger talents such as Bovenbouw Architectuur from Antwerp.“Maatwerk Massarbeit – Custom Made Architecture from Flanders and the Netherlands” runs through February 12, 2007 at DAM – Deutsches Architekturmuseum Frankfurt. Click here for more information.See more exhibition views in the slide show. Read more
