Laboratory of the future
BDR bureau & Carton123 architecten were invited to the 18th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, curated by Lesley Lokko. At the main exhibition in the Arsenale, titled “Dangerous Liaisons”, they presented the project ‘Kappaert’. This project brings together a school for children with autism spectrum conditions, part-time arts education, and playground activities into a new ensemble on the Kappaert site in Zwevegem, Belgium. The design addresses the ambiguity of simultaneously defining and blurring boundaries, creating safe spaces for children with different cognitive patterns.
Scenography
A system of interconnected “landscape rooms” will structure the wider campus and ensure visual cohesion. Within this landscape of rooms, the new architectural interventions act as visual anchors for the children during their daily journeys to and from school. The silhouettes of the three main buildings have been translated into custom curtains sized for the Arsenale and similarly function as anchors within the exhibition. This ambiguous approach to boundaries will manifest at various scales throughout the future campus. Through multiple media, we already present this ongoing process in the exhibition.
Boundary zones
Models at an intermediate scale represent the borders or thresholds that children on the autism spectrum must overcome daily. Often, a simple line is experienced as an insurmountable boundary and requires a certain “width” to soften the abruptness of a transition. The full-scale mock-up (1:1) demonstrates how the line between corridor and classroom can be expanded into a zone that invites, a low-stimulus space that allows decompression. The line becomes a broader boundary zone. We deliberately choose not to present these fragments as static representations of architectural intentions but invite visitors to imagine how these spaces might be appropriated and how children will feel at home within them. Drawings play an important role in this process.
Collaboration
The exhibition shows that Kappaert was created through close collaboration between the school community, architects & engineers, and the research group Research[x]Design. This multidisciplinary research group at KU Leuven studies how spaces are experienced from various perspectives. The collaboration process between the architects themselves — including on-site workshops and remote communication — is also showcased. Equally important are the conversations with the future users of the campus, which are essential to fully understand the relationship between spatial design and its impact on our mental stimuli.
Team : joint venture BDR bureau Carton123 architecten, Research[x]Design (KULeuven)
Photos : Stijn Bollaert
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