https://www.architecturalrecord.com/rss/2950 en-us http://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/18055 Wed, 04 Mar 2026 00:02:00 -0500 https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/18055-a-truss-filled-floor-floats-amid-towers-at-a-swiss-broadcasting-complex-designed-by-office-kgdvs http://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/17388 Thu, 27 Feb 2025 00:15:20 -0500 https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/17388-villa-iv-by-office-kersten-geers-david-van-severen Joined by a new tower, the soaring concrete structure now houses classrooms, lecture halls, and lab spaces.

]]> http://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/17386 Mon, 24 Feb 2025 23:59:10 -0500 https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/17386-office-kgdvs-converts-a-disused-antwerp-slaughterhouse-building-into-a-university-science-facility http://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/16885 Sun, 05 May 2024 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/16885-bahrains-pearling-path-protects-and-revives-a-defunct-trades-architectural-legacy http://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/16656 Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/16656-office-kgdvs-uses-simple-geometry-to-accommodate-the-growing-needs-of-a-library-in-belgium A Belgian firm asks old questions in new ways.

]]> http://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/14214 Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0500 https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/14214-design-vanguard-2009-office-kersten-geers-david-van-severen In 2003, Office KGDVS won its first commission — an entrance vestibule and reception area in an 18th-century aristocratic town house in Antwerp. Confronted with a windowless room, the architects tried to make the room’s sole inhabitant — a receptionist — forget the bleakness of the original space by inserting a mirrored glass pavilion that acts as visual echo chamber. Geers recalls, “At the time, we were fascinated with the idea of a glass house — like Philip Johnson’s — or any late Modernist ideal of a building made of simple glass and almost no profile.” With contemporary sustainability and insulation requirements, such a structure would be irresponsible today, but with this space, Geers says, “we thought it would be possible to build an almost utopian version of [the glass house] as an interior.” He then describes the ethereal quality of the space: “Because of the mirror foil, the lamps are slightly cloudy. So you have this deep space — you yourself are not so much reflected as much as the lamps are reflected. Photo © Bas Princen In 2003, Office KGDVS won its first commission — an entrance vestibule and reception area in an 18th-century aristocratic town house in Antwerp. Confronted with a windowless room, the architects tried to make the room’s sole inhabitant — a receptionist — forget the bleakness of the original space by inserting a mirrored glass pavilion that acts as visual echo chamber. Geers recalls, “At the time, we were fascinated with the idea of a glass house — like Philip Johnson’s — or any late Modernist ideal of a building made of simple glass and almost no profile.” With contemporary sustainability and insulation requirements, such a structure would be irresponsible today, but with this space, Geers says, “we thought it would be possible to build an almost utopian version of [the glass house] as an interior.” He then describes the ethereal quality of the space: “Because of the mirror foil, the lamps are slightly cloudy. So you have this deep space — you yourself are not so much reflected as much as the lamps are reflected. Photo © Bas Princen In 2003, Office KGDVS won its first commission — an entrance vestibule and reception area in an 18th-century aristocratic town house in Antwerp. Confronted with a windowless room, the architects tried to make the room’s sole inhabitant — a receptionist — forget the bleakness of the original space by inserting a mirrored glass pavilion that acts as visual echo chamber. Geers recalls, “At the time, we were fascinated with the idea of a glass house — like Philip Johnson’s — or any late Modernist ideal of a building made of simple glass and almost no profile.” With contemporary sustainability and insulation requirements, such a structure would be irresponsible today, but with this space, Geers says, “we thought it would be possible to build an almost utopian version of [the glass house] as an interior.” He then describes the ethereal quality of the space: “Because of the mirror foil, the lamps are slightly cloudy. So you have this deep space — you yourself are not so much reflected as much as the lamps are reflected. Photo © Bas Princen In a 19th-century town house in Ghent, a mid-20th-century addition had obscured a rear courtyard. Removing the addition and moving its kitchen back inside the old house allowed the architects to develop the recovered space free from constraints. Circumscribing the courtyard with a frame of black steel posts, between which grapevines hang, the architects turned the typical arrangement sideways — so plant life is on the walls, instead of underfoot. They also made a strip of space next to the house into an intermediary zone that can be closed off with single-pane sliding glass doors. These doors, along with mirrored glass at the courtyard’s corners, provide a visual echo within, creating an immersive environment entirely apart from the existing structure Photo © Bas Princen In a 19th-century town house in Ghent, a mid-20th-century addition had obscured a rear courtyard. Removing the addition and moving its kitchen back inside the old house allowed the architects to develop the recovered space free from constraints. Circumscribing the courtyard with a frame of black steel posts, between which grapevines hang, the architects turned the typical arrangement sideways — so plant life is on the walls, instead of underfoot. They also made a strip of space next to the house into an intermediary zone that can be closed off with single-pane sliding glass doors. These doors, along with mirrored glass at the courtyard’s corners, provide a visual echo within, creating an immersive environment entirely apart from the existing structure Image courtesy Office Kersten Geers David Van Severen In a 19th-century town house in Ghent, a mid-20th-century addition had obscured a rear courtyard. Removing the addition and moving its kitchen back inside the old house allowed the architects to develop the recovered space free from constraints. Circumscribing the courtyard with a frame of black steel posts, between which grapevines hang, the architects turned the typical arrangement sideways — so plant life is on the walls, instead of underfoot. They also made a strip of space next to the house into an intermediary zone that can be closed off with single-pane sliding glass doors. These doors, along with mirrored glass at the courtyard’s corners, provide a visual echo within, creating an immersive environment entirely apart from the existing structure Photo © Bas Princen This project, developed with the Italian office Dogma, won first place in a master-planning competition for a new city of 500,000 residents. The architects developed a building code that calls for continuous, 100-foot-high structures, creating a series of 590-by-590-foot open public squares. Rather than a prescriptive urban plan, this framework of buildings serves as a catalyst for the activity that happens between them. Photo courtesy Office Kersten Geers David Van Severen This project, developed with the Italian office Dogma, won first place in a master-planning competition for a new city of 500,000 residents. The architects developed a building code that calls for continuous, 100-foot-high structures, creating a series of 590-by-590-foot open public squares. Rather than a prescriptive urban plan, this framework of buildings serves as a catalyst for the activity that happens between them. Photo courtesy Office Kersten Geers David Van Severen Office KGDVS was given the commission in 2006 to design a footbridge to a concert hall in a neglected area that had become more active thanks to planning efforts. Even though an existing bridge stood just 70 feet away, the client asked Geers and Van Severen to design a new bridge leading directly to the hall. Geers says the area was perhaps becoming too dense with public space, so the client wanted a bridge that would assert a domain of its own. “We made a bridge that is an expression of its architecture by defining its space, instead of one that’s an expression of its structure, which is so typical of bridges.” The notion of clearly framing the space, combined with the need to negotiate a grade change from one side of the canal to the other, led the architects to narrow the bridge at one end and slope it at the same time, creating a fantastic, trompe l’oeil false perspective. Even the gate at one end of the bridge (top) enhances the sense of enclosure. Photo © Bas Princen Office KGDVS was given the commission in 2006 to design a footbridge to a concert hall in a neglected area that had become more active thanks to planning efforts. Even though an existing bridge stood just 70 feet away, the client asked Geers and Van Severen to design a new bridge leading directly to the hall. Geers says the area was perhaps becoming too dense with public space, so the client wanted a bridge that would assert a domain of its own. “We made a bridge that is an expression of its architecture by defining its space, instead of one that’s an expression of its structure, which is so typical of bridges.” The notion of clearly framing the space, combined with the need to negotiate a grade change from one side of the canal to the other, led the architects to narrow the bridge at one end and slope it at the same time, creating a fantastic, trompe l’oeil false perspective. Even the gate at one end of the bridge (top) enhances the sense of enclosure. Photo © Bas Princen Office KGDVS was given the commission in 2006 to design a footbridge to a concert hall in a neglected area that had become more active thanks to planning efforts. Even though an existing bridge stood just 70 feet away, the client asked Geers and Van Severen to design a new bridge leading directly to the hall. Geers says the area was perhaps becoming too dense with public space, so the client wanted a bridge that would assert a domain of its own. “We made a bridge that is an expression of its architecture by defining its space, instead of one that’s an expression of its structure, which is so typical of bridges.” The notion of clearly framing the space, combined with the need to negotiate a grade change from one side of the canal to the other, led the architects to narrow the bridge at one end and slope it at the same time, creating a fantastic, trompe l’oeil false perspective. Even the gate at one end of the bridge (top) enhances the sense of enclosure. Image courtesy Office Kersten Geers David Van Severen Office KGDVS was given the commission in 2006 to design a footbridge to a concert hall in a neglected area that had become more active thanks to planning efforts. Even though an existing bridge stood just 70 feet away, the client asked Geers and Van Severen to design a new bridge leading directly to the hall. Geers says the area was perhaps becoming too dense with public space, so the client wanted a bridge that would assert a domain of its own. “We made a bridge that is an expression of its architecture by defining its space, instead of one that’s an expression of its structure, which is so typical of bridges.” The notion of clearly framing the space, combined with the need to negotiate a grade change from one side of the canal to the other, led the architects to narrow the bridge at one end and slope it at the same time, creating a fantastic, trompe l’oeil false perspective. Even the gate at one end of the bridge (top) enhances the sense of enclosure. Image courtesy Office Kersten Geers David Van Severen This 2005 competition asked entrants to address the treacherous problem of a border station for pedestrians between the United States and Mexico. Working with Wonne Ickx, a Belgian-born architect who is a partner at the Mexico City—based firm Productora, Geers and Van Severen created a severe rectangular frame of 30-foot-high walls, with a single opening on either side of the fence. Inside, they imagine a desert oasis with a grid of palm trees and pavilions for passport control and administration “spread around here and there, becoming a part of the garden.” On a politically untenable site, Office KGDVS offers a solution of willful blitheness, calling into question the problem-solving potential of architectural form. Photo courtesy Office Kersten Geers David Van Severen This 2005 competition asked entrants to address the treacherous problem of a border station for pedestrians between the United States and Mexico. Working with Wonne Ickx, a Belgian-born architect who is a partner at the Mexico City—based firm Productora, Geers and Van Severen created a severe rectangular frame of 30-foot-high walls, with a single opening on either side of the fence. Inside, they imagine a desert oasis with a grid of palm trees and pavilions for passport control and administration “spread around here and there, becoming a part of the garden.” On a politically untenable site, Office KGDVS offers a solution of willful blitheness, calling into question the problem-solving potential of architectural form. Photo courtesy Office Kersten Geers David Van Severen The winning entry in a competition staged by curator Moritz Küng, this project features a 23-foot-high double wall that aligns the Belgian Pavilion’s rotated siting with the prevailing geometry of the street. The walls close off the space from the rest of the Biennale while recasting the existing building as an unusual object within a new frame. The architects spread confetti on the ground in and outside the pavilion, evoking a “party” and creating an unbroken, continuous landscape. Skylights in the building obscured with screens were uncovered to allow daylight in, further diminishing the difference between inside and out. Photo © Bas Princen The winning entry in a competition staged by curator Moritz Küng, this project features a 23-foot-high double wall that aligns the Belgian Pavilion’s rotated siting with the prevailing geometry of the street. The walls close off the space from the rest of the Biennale while recasting the existing building as an unusual object within a new frame. The architects spread confetti on the ground in and outside the pavilion, evoking a “party” and creating an unbroken, continuous landscape. Skylights in the building obscured with screens were uncovered to allow daylight in, further diminishing the difference between inside and out. Image courtesy Office Kersten Geers David Van Severen The winning entry in a competition staged by curator Moritz Küng, this project features a 23-foot-high double wall that aligns the Belgian Pavilion’s rotated siting with the prevailing geometry of the street. The walls close off the space from the rest of the Biennale while recasting the existing building as an unusual object within a new frame. The architects spread confetti on the ground in and outside the pavilion, evoking a “party” and creating an unbroken, continuous landscape. Skylights in the building obscured with screens were uncovered to allow daylight in, further diminishing the difference between inside and out. Photo © Bas Princen The winning entry in a competition staged by curator Moritz Küng, this project features a 23-foot-high double wall that aligns the Belgian Pavilion’s rotated siting with the prevailing geometry of the street. The walls close off the space from the rest of the Biennale while recasting the existing building as an unusual object within a new frame. The architects spread confetti on the ground in and outside the pavilion, evoking a “party” and creating an unbroken, continuous landscape. Skylights in the building obscured with screens were uncovered to allow daylight in, further diminishing the difference between inside and out. Photo © Bas Princen