In 1963, 12 years after the open-air sculpture museum
had been opened in the grounds of the Middelheim park, a permanent exhibition
pavilion was proposed to exhibit special, precious and non-weatherproof
sculpture. The Antwerp architect Renaat Braem, who had been part of the Board
of Advisors since the foundation of the Middelheim Museum, offers to design
this permanent exhibition building for free. The architecture is supposed to
serve the exhibits and not be a statement in itself. The directors prefer an
ensemble of separate buildings that integrate nature and sculpture. The city
council lends out a 3 hectare plot directly adjacent to the existing park and
the planned seminary (now the Theological and Pastoral Centre).
The first designs by Braem are completed by the end of
1963 and are in an organic brutalist style. This design is followed in 1964 by
a second concept with a three winged pavilion around courtyards. In 1965 a
third design is made to correspond with the Art Biennale. This inward pavilion
around a central courtyard is to be placed in the axis of the classicist manor
house north of the central avenue. In 1966 the choice is made to return to the
originally proposed site. The area available for the new pavilion is, however,
reduced by two thirds, so Renaat Braem sets about reworking his second concept
into a smaller scale building. Finally the commission for a new pavilion at Middelheim
Sculpture Park is granted to him in 1968. The building work starts in 1969 and
the pavilion is opened on February 12 1971. As the completed pavilion was to be
the first of three, Braem submits designs for the second and third phases in
1973. These designs meet with opposition within the council and are later
quietly abandoned. The pavilion that was built -although basically uncompleted-
is one of the best designs by Renaat Braem in particular and 1960s architecture
in general.
Towards the end of his career Braem shifts towards a
style of architecture best described as organic brutalism. In the Middelheim
Pavilion he achieves to insert a shiny white curved volume in the natural
surroundings without it overpowering its setting. The pavilion also has a
Japanese flair with the lighting slits in the roof looking like birds as well
as reminding of pagodas.
The rooflights have an expressive design that sits on
the roof as a series of separate elements of waterspouts with two curved
shields to direct the light downward to provide ambient lighting within the
pavilion. These linear skylight run right across the pavilion. The walls of the
central exhibition space have no windows (as seen on the right). The functional
parts of the pavilion (office, toilets and hall) do have side lighting by
windows, but lack the skylights.
The buildings with its emphasised horizontality
nestles between the trees. Everywhere the lines of the walls and the various
screens curve creating an organic monolith. The white colour neutralises the
texture differences of the materials used. Only from up close are these
apparent. This is the second "face" of the building.
The building was constructed in concrete and brick.
The flowing lines of the architecture are characteristic of Renaat Braem's
later work. Two curved screens serve as sun screens blocking direct rays and
providing the desired soft lighting within the exhibition chamber. A large
floor to ceiling glass wall with two doors connects the exhibition space with
the natural surroundings linking them both visually and functionally.
The entrance is reached via a path along the edge of
an open space with a large pond reminiscent of a forest clearing. The pavilion
is placed in a classic manner as if it were a folly in an English landscape
park.
The entrance is located within a patio pace, again
with curved lines. The doors and fixtures and fittings have been designed by
Braem as well. The whole is a total concept work (totaalkunstwerk) with every
detail carefully considered. Even the toilets are beautifully designed with
bespoke doors, toilet bowls and such.
The interior space measuring 40 by 14 metres has been
carefully designed by Braem as an overall shape (totaalvorm) with the aim of
providing even ambient lighting. Along the side walls arched recesses were
designed to form a backdrop to the artworks to be displayed here. Now most of
the sculpture sits on free-standing pedestals.
The ceiling-high glass at both ends of the pavilion
creates a special effect, especially on the side of the park where the natural
surroundings form the backdrop to the artworks. The skylights have curved
screens that direct the light downward but also keep out direct sunlight and
thus create a very uniform natural lighting.
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