CABINET Benjamin Vanmuysen

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Perspective
Western View
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Worm's Eye
Worm's-Eye View
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Plan + Section
Plan + Section
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Physical Model
1/200 Physical Model
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Physical Model
Detail Physical Model
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Perspective
Eastern View
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Snede door de Kerk Sint-Amelbergakerk, Bossuit LEIEDAL Competition: CONTREI LIVE

This concept proposal wants to accentuate the character of the neo-Gothic church, Sint-Amelbergakerk, located in Bossuit, Belgium. On the one hand, the design reminisces the 19th century when the now desecrated church accommodated its typical pointed arches and ribbed vaults. On the other hand, it projects a future where the landscape and the architecture are united. These two distinct approaches are divided by the mid-sagittal plane of the church, which runs west to east right through its central axis. The northern half recalls the past and offers an impression of the vanished Gothic vaults. The inlayed footprint in the terrazzo floor by artist Ellen Harvey is hereby brought to life three-dimensionally. The destroyed vaults are represented by intersecting planes out of plywood and constitute an abstract wireframe of the original structure. The entire construction has also been lowered to generate a more intimate feeling between the visitors and the vaults. While the northern segment rewinds through time, the southern half provides a flashforward and depicts a potential future where the landscape is interfering with the interior of the church. Earth and rocks are forming a carpet over the existing terrazzo and are locally eroded to make way for a path. This trail meanders through the barren landscape and creates a loop throughout the church. This bipolar project travels simultaneously back and forth through time and doesn't only want to put the history of the place in the spotlight, but also react to Harvey's intervention. .