My guest today is Belgian architect Paul Robbrecht.

Fifty years ago, he and his wife Hilde Daem founded Robbrecht en Daem architecten in Ghent, Belgium. In 2005, their son Johannes joined the studio.

Today, it is one of the most renowned practices in the country.

Robbrecht and Daem were entrusted with integrating a concert hall (Concertgebouw) and an exhibition hall (BRUSK) into Bruges, a UNESCO World heritage site

They expanded the Whitechapel in London and restored Henry van de Velde's Boekentoeren (Book Tower) in Ghent. My favorite buildings is the Market Hall in Ghent.

“If we can use things that already exist, let's use them.” Paul Robbrecht says

I have worked with Robbrecht en Daem on several occasions

In 2013, they created a life-size Model for us, Projekt MIK e.V., based on Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's design for the Golf Club House in Krefeld.

For me, the office is a special cosmos: architecture, music, nature and, above all, art “as a critical presence” are always there - even physically, under the vast roof of a former timber yard in Ghent. Everything is connected, you can feel it.

Links to the architecture and Artists mentioned in the podcast

Concert Hall, Bruges, Belgium
https://robbrechtendaem.com/projects/concert-hall

BRUSK. Brugge, Belgium
https://www.museabrugge.be/de/visit/locations/brusk

Market Hall and Central Squares, Ghent, Belgium
https://robbrechtendaem.com/projects/market-hall-and-central-squares

Mies 1:1. das Golfclub Projekt, Krefeld, Germany
https://www.projektmik.com/projekt-mies-11-das-golfclub-projekt/

Jan van Eyck, Portrait of a Man
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_a_Man_(Self_Portrait%3F)

Boekentoren – University Library, Ghent, Belgium
https://robbrechtendaem.com/projects/boekentoren-university-library

Rubens Square, Knokke, Belgium
https://robbrechtendaem.com/projects/rubens-square

Encounter with Cristina Iglesias
https://robbrechtendaem.com/encounters/cristina-iglesias

Encounter with Gerhard Richter
https://robbrechtendaem.com/encounters/gerhard-richter

Encounter with Luc Tuymans
https://robbrechtendaem.com/encounters/luc-tuymans

Encounter with Michaël Borremans
https://robbrechtendaem.com/encounters/michael-borremans

produced by www.projektmik.com