North North West 1: noAarchitecten

A contemplative study room for students in Hasselt turns out to have been a prison cell. A facade introduces reading into the city and gives the Plantin-Moretus Museum collection a (protective) face. In their projects, noAarchitecten try to go beyond the visual experience to arrive at an all-round spatial experience. NoAarchitecten have been able to create a form profile for themselves from the very beginning, with both notable small buildings and several large-scale public buildings including the Petrol electricity cabin in Antwerp and the spatial metamorphosis of Menen town hall. In the course of time a seemingly intuitive design approach transformed into a proper design strategy. noAarchitecten takes up a position subtly reconciling the principal, the building/assignment and the future user. The firm sometimes even opts for different approaches within a single building. The result is contradiction and complexity. An ambiguity which this collective explores by means of a meticulous plan and a precise selection of colours and materials. This architecture is never neutral. It is intended to uplift, but never becomes pedantic. It is specific, offers a tailormade location and gives an almost ritual dimension to everyday actions. This First Issue of the Architecture Magazine North North West is designed by Hans Gremmen. Exhibition deSingel Antwerp, 26 9 2014 - 4 1 2015. noAarchitecten was established in 1999 by Philippe Viérin, An Fonteyne and Jitse van den Berg and is one of the leading architectural offices from Belgium.