{"id":14408,"date":"2024-02-22T10:19:32","date_gmt":"2024-02-22T09:19:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/?p=14408"},"modified":"2024-02-19T15:01:49","modified_gmt":"2024-02-19T14:01:49","slug":"architecture-belgian-talents-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/en\/architecture\/architecture-belgian-talents-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Architecture: Belgian talents (part 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Sommaire<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4027e7125f9\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4027e7125f9\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/en\/architecture\/architecture-belgian-talents-part-2\/#Dieter_Vander_Velpen\" >Dieter Vander Velpen<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/en\/architecture\/architecture-belgian-talents-part-2\/#Dynamic_couture_architecture_that_balances_minimalism_and_luxury\" >Dynamic couture architecture that balances minimalism and luxury.<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/en\/architecture\/architecture-belgian-talents-part-2\/#Eric_Dhondt\" >Eric Dhondt<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/en\/architecture\/architecture-belgian-talents-part-2\/#He_creates_enchanting_urban_landscapes_and_gardens_with_infinite_precision_and_poetry\" >He creates enchanting urban landscapes and gardens with infinite precision and poetry.<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/en\/architecture\/architecture-belgian-talents-part-2\/#Bento_Architecture\" >Bento Architecture<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/en\/architecture\/architecture-belgian-talents-part-2\/#How_can_architecture_adapt_to_a_world_of_finite_resources_and_cities_be_turned_into_places_that_produce_rather_than_consume\" >How can architecture adapt to a world of finite resources and cities be turned into places that produce rather than consume?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/en\/architecture\/architecture-belgian-talents-part-2\/#Awaa\" >Awaa<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/en\/architecture\/architecture-belgian-talents-part-2\/#%E2%80%9CAre_we_all_architects%E2%80%9D_%E2%80%9CAnother_wild_architectural_adventure%E2%80%9D_or_%E2%80%9CA_Wittock_Architectural_Association%E2%80%9D_4_letters_that_are_open_to_your_interpretation\" >\u201cAre we all architects\u201d, \u201cAnother wild architectural adventure\u201d or \u201cA Wittock Architectural Association\u201d, 4 letters that are open to your interpretation<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/en\/architecture\/architecture-belgian-talents-part-2\/#Jacques_Wirtz_fils\" >Jacques Wirtz &amp; fils<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/en\/architecture\/architecture-belgian-talents-part-2\/#No_one_knows_what_paradise_is_but_everyone_knows_its_a_garden_Jacques_Wirtz_transformed_these_edens_into_works_of_art_combining_a_quest_for_innovation_with_a_love_of_classicism_His_sons_are_following_in_his_footsteps\" >No one knows what paradise is, but everyone knows it&#8217;s a garden! Jacques Wirtz transformed these edens into works of art, combining a quest for innovation with a love of classicism. His sons are following in his footsteps.<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/en\/architecture\/architecture-belgian-talents-part-2\/#Bas_Smets\" >Bas Smets<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/en\/architecture\/architecture-belgian-talents-part-2\/#Bas_Smets_has_been_chosen_to_landscape_the_surroundings_of_Notre-dame_Cathedral_The_heart_of_Paris_in_the_green_hands_of_this_20_%E2%80%9Clandscape_inventor%E2%80%9D_as_he_likes_to_call_himself\" >Bas Smets has been chosen to landscape the surroundings of Notre-dame Cathedral. The heart of Paris in the green hands of this 2.0 \u201clandscape inventor\u201d, as he likes to call himself.<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>With its emblematic buildings ranging in style from Art Nouveau to Post-Modernism, not forgetting forays into Art Deco and Modernism, Belgium has become something of an architectural benchmark. Today&#8217;s architects are the heirs of the masters of functionality and rationality who developed a certain idea of minimalism and an ability to impose a strong architectural language: Henry Van de Velde, LouisHermann De Koninck and also L\u00e9on Stynen, who developed a suspended construction system with a non-load-bearing facade wall. Their creations speak for themselves, leaving us with an exceptional heritage that today&#8217;s project managers have to somehow acknowledge without emulating. Harmony, attention to detail and exacting finishes are the hallmarks of current Belgian architecture, which aims to be sustainable and respectful of the planet.<\/p>\n<p>Ecology and energy management have become its allies, driven by a desire to combine traditional building techniques with technological innovations to invent a virtuous future. Belgium is no exception in this field, showing an eagerness to move away from concrete and to embrace experimental research by focusing on bio-sourced and living materials. One fine example is the Bento Architecture studio, which is exploring the qualities of mycelium, derived from mushrooms. It was one of the highlights of this year&#8217;s Venice Biennale. But what could be more alive than nature itself, which landscape architects are recomposing in their own image? Nature paves the way to a brighter tomorrow for the sons of Jacques Wirtz, Erik Dhont and Bas Smets, a path along which philosophy meets architecture. Philosophers and politicians will not be the ones to change the world, but, who knows, maybe the architects who rethink the balance between town and country will!<\/p>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Dieter_Vander_Velpen\"><\/span>Dieter Vander Velpen<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Dynamic_couture_architecture_that_balances_minimalism_and_luxury\"><\/span>Dynamic couture architecture that balances minimalism and luxury.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Dieter Vander Velpen\u2019s powerful couture architecture makes hearts beat faster all over the world. He transforms customer&#8217;s wishes into an overarching aesthetic, right down to the smallest detail, just as a fashion designer would. Although Vander Velpen likes working with neutral tones and high-quality natural materials such as stone and wood, he keeps his interiors exciting by playing with contrasts between light and dark, hard and soft or smooth and rough. This tactility makes the designs dynamic, helping him to achieve a perfect equilibrium between minimalism and luxury.<\/p>\n<p>In the ten years since interning at Vincent Van Duysen Architects and Adjaye Associates, Vander Velpen has built an office of fourteen (interior) architects, with projects spanning from residential to hospitality and from his hometown in Antwerp to Tel Aviv and Los Angeles<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_14354\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14354\" class=\"center wp-image-14354 size-full\" title=\"VILLAS Decoration architecture talents 116\/2\" src=\"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/DVV_Kapellen_\u00a9-Cafeine.be_01.jpg\" alt=\"VILLAS Decoration architecture talents 116\/2\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-14354\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cafeine.be<\/p><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Eric_Dhondt\"><\/span>Eric Dhondt<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"He_creates_enchanting_urban_landscapes_and_gardens_with_infinite_precision_and_poetry\"><\/span>He creates enchanting urban landscapes and gardens with infinite precision and poetry.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Based in Brussels and Geneva, Erik Dhont founded his own landscape architecture firm in 1989 and works with a multidisciplinary team. His projects draw on his extremely lucid knowledge of nature and the deep respect he feels for it. Research is the cornerstone of his designs, and his botanical choices strike a subtle balance between his practice, the natural setting and the built environment to achieve the most perfect harmony. Renowned for his experience in restoring and revitalising gardens and landscapes with a particular historical or heritage background, he always gives priority to easy maintenance and the future development of the site. Among other references, he has designed a park for Dries Van Noten and created the garden for the Picasso Museum in Paris. He is also behind community vegetable gardens, farmyards and dune gardens, and has worked on numerous urban and landscape projects in Switzerland, France, Germany and further afield, in California and the Azores.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_14388\" style=\"width: 910px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14388\" class=\"center wp-image-14388\" title=\"VILLAS Decoration architecture talents 116\/2\" src=\"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/ED_Azores_\u00a9-Jean-Pierre-Gabriel-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"VILLAS Decoration architecture talents 116\/2\" width=\"900\" height=\"675\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/ED_Azores_\u00a9-Jean-Pierre-Gabriel-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/ED_Azores_\u00a9-Jean-Pierre-Gabriel-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/ED_Azores_\u00a9-Jean-Pierre-Gabriel-1536x1153.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/ED_Azores_\u00a9-Jean-Pierre-Gabriel-2048x1537.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-14388\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Azores<\/p><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Bento_Architecture\"><\/span>Bento Architecture<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_can_architecture_adapt_to_a_world_of_finite_resources_and_cities_be_turned_into_places_that_produce_rather_than_consume\"><\/span>How can architecture adapt to a world of finite resources and cities be turned into places that produce rather than consume?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In response to the construction industry\u2019s reputation as one of the worst polluters, this group of young architects launched a project in 2020 that sets out to \u201cbuild differently and leave behind the concrete model\u201d. Their ecological approach revolves around experimentation and research into living natural materials, focusing on mycelium derived from fungi. This biosourced material, which can be used to produce bricks or panels, has a very low environmental impact and can be released into nature without polluting the soil.<\/p>\n<p>Following the departure of Fran\u00e7ois Willemarcq, Corentin Dalon has today joined forces with Florian Mahieu and Charles Palliez. He brings his knowledge of earth construction, gleaned with CRAterre in Grenoble. Bento Architecture&#8217;s ambition is \u201cto give concrete shape to its initial research and discoveries in the form of architectural, installation and furniture projects (notably Stool17)\u201d. An award-winning approach. A Terra Fibra Award 2021 finalist and a Green Solutions Award 2021 finalist in the Energy and hot Climate Category in collaboration with L&#8217;Harmattan architecture for X\u00e8wa Sow\u00e9, a children&#8217;s centre in Benin, it also won the Europan 16 Architecture Center for Regenerative Materials competition, proposing to transform CIVA, a Centre for Information, Documentation and Exhibitions on the city, architecture, landscape and urban planning, into an experimentation and production hub. It was also co-curator, with the philosopher Vinciane Despret, of the Belgian pavilion \u201cIn Vivo\u201d at the last Venice Architecture Biennale, which closed its doors in November.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_14364\" style=\"width: 910px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14364\" class=\"center wp-image-14364 size-full\" title=\"VILLAS Decoration architecture talents 116\/2\" src=\"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/BENTO_Belgian-pavilion_Biennale-2023_\u00a9-Ugo-Carmeni-1.jpg\" alt=\"VILLAS Decoration architecture talents 116\/2\" width=\"900\" height=\"675\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/BENTO_Belgian-pavilion_Biennale-2023_\u00a9-Ugo-Carmeni-1.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/BENTO_Belgian-pavilion_Biennale-2023_\u00a9-Ugo-Carmeni-1-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-14364\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ugo Carmeni |\u00a0BELGIAN PAVILION at the Venice Architecture Biennial 2023<\/p><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Awaa\"><\/span>Awaa<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CAre_we_all_architects%E2%80%9D_%E2%80%9CAnother_wild_architectural_adventure%E2%80%9D_or_%E2%80%9CA_Wittock_Architectural_Association%E2%80%9D_4_letters_that_are_open_to_your_interpretation\"><\/span>\u201cAre we all architects\u201d, \u201cAnother wild architectural adventure\u201d or \u201cA Wittock Architectural Association\u201d, 4 letters that are open to your interpretation<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Charly Wittock is an advocate of open architecture and enthusiastically invites his clients to be active stakeholders in the development of their joint project, especially so if they are not architects. Surrounded by consultants from a variety of fields, AWAA is an agency that brings together professionals with different areas of expertise and that works internationally. The agency considers architecture, first and foremost, as a human adventure, and the best projects as those that put the spotlight on a certain innocence.<\/p>\n<p>These experts have turned the diversity of their work into a strength. Their current projects take them to Sicily, where they are creating a large organic farm by renovating beautiful ruins, showing the same respect for the past as for cutting-edge technology. They are also working on a project in Rwanda, rediscovering local building techniques to create a hotel of suites housed in huts on the shores of Lake Kivu, while elsewhere they are blending Balinese architecture with Costa Rican construction techniques. A second winery project near Brussels, perfectly espousing the landscape, echoes that of the Bousval winery. In the field of sustainable and agricultural architecture, AWAA is also working on a pioneering hemp farm in Belgium. From the residential, which offers an intimate and rich source of human exchanges, to the industrial and commercial and the opportunities it brings to explore, learn and take controlled risks, to the cultural, which is fertile ground for our wildest dreams, reined in by a good dose of pragmatism, AWAA is a trailblazing mastermind of the architecture of tomorrow.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_14381\" style=\"width: 685px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14381\" class=\"center wp-image-14381 size-full\" title=\"VILLAS Decoration architecture talents 116\/2\" src=\"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AWAA_Puro-Dieces_\u00a9-Christophe-Bourdeaux.jpg\" alt=\"VILLAS Decoration architecture talents 116\/2\" width=\"675\" height=\"900\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-14381\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Purodieces project in Costa Rica<\/p><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Jacques_Wirtz_fils\"><\/span>Jacques Wirtz &amp; fils<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"No_one_knows_what_paradise_is_but_everyone_knows_its_a_garden_Jacques_Wirtz_transformed_these_edens_into_works_of_art_combining_a_quest_for_innovation_with_a_love_of_classicism_His_sons_are_following_in_his_footsteps\"><\/span>No one knows what paradise is, but everyone knows it&#8217;s a garden! Jacques Wirtz transformed these edens into works of art, combining a quest for innovation with a love of classicism. His sons are following in his footsteps.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>He was a man who pushed elegance to the point of discretion. Yet his exquisite gardens left their mark on twentieth-century landscape design far beyond our borders. Jacques Wirtz (19242018) designed gardens that focused above all on the harmony that links the house, the heart of the person who lives there and the nature that surrounds it. \u201cA successful garden,\u201d he would say, \u201cis a garden that you feel has always been there.\u201d This landscape architect was intuitively capable of \u201cmoving smoothly from total restraint to a wild, rich cornucopia\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>His gardens are full of temperament, each in its own way and each in its time forging Wirtz\u2019s reputation as an upholder of controlled biodiversity, organised and designed by him for the pleasure of their beneficiaries. This holds true for his private and public gardens. Free of stylistic prejudices and not bound to any particular movement or school, Wirtz made his mark with his highly personal vision of gardens, combining pure vegetation and positive minerality, with handsome trees always an essential hallmark. Based in Schoten, he founded the firm Wirtz International Landscape Architects and gained a reputation for his glorification of topiary art (typical of northern European gardens), giving it a whole new lease of life. In Paris, he won the competition to renovate the gardens of the Carrousel du Louvre. He was also asked to landscape the grounds of the \u00c9lys\u00e9e Palace (under Mitterrand), launching a \u201creplanting\u201d campaign and creating ponds. But what explains his success? Martin and Peter Wirtz, his sons, will tell you that their father had an uncommon capacity for hard work, that his intellectual curiosity was constantly on the alert and that nothing could stop him. Undoubtedly a leading landscape artist of his time.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_14372\" style=\"width: 910px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14372\" class=\"center wp-image-14372 size-full\" title=\"VILLAS Decoration architecture talents 116\/2\" src=\"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/WIRTZ_International-Landscape-Architects_01.jpg\" alt=\"VILLAS Decoration architecture talents 116\/2\" width=\"900\" height=\"652\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/WIRTZ_International-Landscape-Architects_01.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/WIRTZ_International-Landscape-Architects_01-768x556.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-14372\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wirtz International &#8211; LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS<\/p><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Bas_Smets\"><\/span>Bas Smets<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Bas_Smets_has_been_chosen_to_landscape_the_surroundings_of_Notre-dame_Cathedral_The_heart_of_Paris_in_the_green_hands_of_this_20_%E2%80%9Clandscape_inventor%E2%80%9D_as_he_likes_to_call_himself\"><\/span>Bas Smets has been chosen to landscape the surroundings of Notre-dame Cathedral. The heart of Paris in the green hands of this 2.0 \u201clandscape inventor\u201d, as he likes to call himself.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>\u201cI think long and hard about how the gardens that I design today will look decades from now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We can change the climate by changing the landscape. Our cities need to be converted into complex eco-urban systems. This philosophy, among other solid arguments, won 48-year old Bas Smets the contract to rethink and redevelop the forecourt and gardens of Paris\u2019s Notre-Dame Cathedral, right down to the surrounding streets. The choice was also motivated by the sobriety of the proposed project. It is comprised of a \u201crectangle\u201d of greenery, the layout of which continues the interior geometry of the cathedral on the outside, and of a promenade featuring a long arch of trees to create more shaded areas.<\/p>\n<p>All of this is cooled by a simple rainwater run-off system (recovered and stored in the car parks) that will irrigate the forecourt in the heat of summer. This eminently eco-responsible project is being carried out in collaboration with the urban planning firm GRAU and, for the heritage section, with the architectural firm Neufville-Gayet. \u201cImitating nature is not an end in itself,\u201d points out Bas Smets. On the contrary, we have to use its logic to compose a landscape and imagine what would have happened without this human intervention. This is why the landscape architect-engineer works with time, thinking long and hard about growth, the seasons and cyclical transformations. \u201cWe think about how what we build today will look decades from now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Among the projects developed around the world: a (very) high perched garden in Hong Kong, the vertical garden of the Mandrake Hotel in London, the park of the Luma Foundation in Arles (in dialogue with the architecture of Frank Gehry), a seafront (Himara) in Albania, the greening of the Tour &amp; Taxis site, and so on. Not forgetting the Memorial nestling in the Sonian Forest, created in honour of the 32 civilians killed in the terrorist attacks in Brussels in 2016.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_14375\" style=\"width: 910px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14375\" class=\"center wp-image-14375 size-full\" title=\"VILLAS Decoration architecture talents 116\/2\" src=\"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/BS_Notre-Dame-de-paris-image-virtuelle_\u00a9-Studio-Alma-pour-le-groupement-BBS.jpg\" alt=\"VILLAS Decoration architecture talents 116\/2\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/BS_Notre-Dame-de-paris-image-virtuelle_\u00a9-Studio-Alma-pour-le-groupement-BBS.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/BS_Notre-Dame-de-paris-image-virtuelle_\u00a9-Studio-Alma-pour-le-groupement-BBS-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-14375\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alma Studio on behalf of the BBS consortium | ORECOURT OF NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS (VIRTUAL IMAGE) &#8211; \u00a9<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With its emblematic buildings ranging in style from Art Nouveau to Post-Modernism, not forgetting forays into Art Deco and Modernism, Belgium has become something of an architectural benchmark. Today&#8217;s architects are the heirs of the masters of functionality and rationality who developed a certain idea of minimalism and an ability to impose a strong architectural [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":14386,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-architecture"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14408"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14408\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14410,"href":"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14408\/revisions\/14410"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villasdecoration.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}