FALL SEMESTER 2024
KUL / CAMPUS SINT-LUCAS BRUSSELS
A POLICY WHISPERING PRAXIS
7.000 OAKS (REVISITED)
PETER SWINNEN
Our architecture studio is interested in testing architecture’s capacity as an unsolicited and pro-active tool for political policy making. How can architecture critically inform and challenge social, spatial and ecology policies? Can the architect perform as an effective “policy whisperer” for the sake of common good? And is architecture’s role to reactively answer a brief or could it prefigure the brief, and even the (public) client for that matter?
For the lustrum 2022-2026 the atelier embarks on a long-term commitment vis-à-vis the community of Tervueren (50° 49’ N, 4° 31’ E), one of Europe’s most intriguing environments, both a hamlet and a world site. Semester per semester, we will spatially and politically scrutinize this petite capitale mondiale, in close collaboration with local entities, political decision makers and stakeholders. As an intrinsic part of the green belt around Brussels, Tervueren is surrounded by a Chinese puzzle of lush parks, protected fields and forests. At its core, however, it is astonishingly hard and un-green.
For the forthcoming semester we want to explore the possibilities of an intelligent and non-dogmatic greening strategy for the larger Tervueren (incl. Moorsel, Duisburg, and Vossem). This overtly greening endeavor will be linked to a projection of a wide array of community facilities. Tervueren being currently in dire need of adequate facilities for local and communal spaces of encounter; formal and informal.
As our leading thread, we will critically analyze the ‘7.000 OAKS’ project by Joseph Beuys (& volunteers), realized for the City of Kassel at the occasion of the documenta 7 (1982).
Image left: 7.000 OAKS, DOCUMENTA 7 (1982) JOSEPH BEUYS AND VOLUNTEERS PLANTING THE FIRST OF 7.000 OAKS
Fully entitled ‘7.000 OAKS – City Forestation Instead of City Administration’ (7.000 EICHEN – Stadtverwaldung statt Stadtverwaltung), Beuys wanted to plant 7.000 trees over a period of 5 years. Each tree would be accompanied by a basalt stone, as a marker. These black stones were initially piled up in front of the the Fridericianum Museum. Per tree planted a stone was removed from the pile, hence, the remaining rubble stock was a constant reminder of the job still ahead.
7.000 OAKS, DOCUMENTA 7 (1982)
RUBBLE STOCK OF BASALT MARKERS
THE GREEN PROVOCATION
At the time of documenta 7, artist Joseph Beuys was politically involved as founding member of the German Green Party, which was initiated in 1981 (he drastically redrew from any green political engagement – because of personal conflicts – in 1983). The 7.000 OAKS project is nevertheless deeply rooted in Beuys’ attempt to impact contemporary environment politics. Though highly symbolic and provocative in nature, the 7.000 OAKS project did have a fundamental effect on the environmental and social performance of Kassel (a city that held but 8.000 trees in 1982!). Acknowledging that a full-grown oak can absorb yearly ca. 22kg of CO2, and that the green ensembles were strategically planted throughout the Kassel territory, the 7000 OAKS managed to outgrow its original symbolism.
7.000 OAKS
ENSEMBLE SITUATIONS
7.000 OAKS
ENSEMBLE SITUATIONS
7.000 OAKS
PLANTING MAP OF TREE ENSEMBLE
For Tervueren we want to learn from the ‘7.000 OAKS’ program (not copy it!), critically assessing its political, social and ecological relevance. The directness of Beuys’ voluntarily naive proposal however still appeals, though in contemporary (and future) times its ethos will not suffice or withstand. The green superstructure remains nevertheless an interesting and realistic red thread, to which local and communal infrastructures could tap into. With this basic hunch in mind we want to set course for Tervueren’s core, analyzing its green and common potential, while proposing an overall approach for a myriad of potential local initiatives.
THE STUDIO
Studio participants will be encouraged to think politically and act strategically, so that real-time impact can be generated. Our sole nexus is to “find cracks in the system”, necessary to invoke change and evolution through architectural practice. Hence, we are interested in strong designers, clear thinkers and true team players that understand architecture as a strategic tool, never as a goal in itself. The studio will perform as a professional architecture collective, with precise aims, regular deadlines and precisely defined responsibilities for each team member.
Throughout the semester the work of the studio will be assessed by various invited experts, e.g. Kristina Eyskens (Alderman Tervuren), Kevin Knevels (Forest Ranger Tervuren), Ivonne Weichold (Ecological Productive Landscapes), … On a weekly basis, the studio will be queried and steered by arch. Peter Swinnen (CRIT. architects, www.CRIT.cc).
The studio’s agenda reads as follows:
AGENDA FALL SEMESTER 2024
A POLICY WHISPERING PRAXIS – 7.000 OAKS (REVISITED)
| 25/sep 2/okt 9/okt 16/okt 23/okt 30/okt 6/nov 13/nov 20/nov 27/nov 4/dec 18/dec 7 & 8 jan 2025 |
introduction fieldwork (group) fieldwork (group) pre-project (individual) pre-project (individual) pre-project (individual) dry-run mid-term crit final project (individual) final project (individual) dry-run final crit SUPERSALON |
August 14, 2024