\u201cBrussels must serve as the unifying force bringing together major national and international cultural forces. Have you noticed that the work carried out by the National Opera explores the foreign? The TRM intrigues and creates obligations for the future, a duty for what lies ahead\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
The renovation of the Th\u00e9\u00e2tre Royal de la Monnaie is one of the major projects spearheaded by G\u00e9rard Mortier. The project, which is both ambitious and sensitive (as it involves one of the great symbols of the country\u2019s history), has been entrusted to the temporary consortium Urbat (J. Aron, P. Puttemans and F. De Becker) \/ A2RC (Libois, Verliefden and D\u2019Helft) and combines heritage considerations with contemporary interventions. These are evident in the construction of a second foyer and the transformation of the hall and the royal lounge.<\/p>\n
Just as at Middelheim, Vandenhove was invited to contribute not as an architect but as an artist, and was appointed G\u00e9rard Mortier\u2019s \u2018artistic adviser\u2019. In March 1986, Vandenhove\u2019s proposal concerned the redesign of the forecourt, the pronaos, the vestibule and the royal drawing room. For budgetary reasons, only the vestibule and the royal drawing room were carried out.<\/p>\n
Much like his brilliant intervention at the H\u00f4tel Torrentius, the project proposed by Vandenhove establishes a dialogue between historic architecture \u2013 in this case, typical of the 19th<\/sup> century \u2013 and a contemporary aesthetic in which several visual artists play a central role. In the lobby, the floor, laid with Vinalmont and Carrara marble, incorporates a pyramid design by Sol LeWitt, whilst the ceiling features an abstract work by Sam Francis. Designed by Charles Vandenhove, two columns with black and white drums provide a visual link between the floor and the ceiling.<\/p>\n In the royal drawing room, the architect \u2018monumentalises\u2019 a small space by playing with perspectives. Daniel Buren\u2019s design makes a bold statement, consisting of alternating bands of red (Philippeville marble) and white (Carrara marble) that run across the floor and continue up the panelling: \u2018rhythm, phrasing, syncopation, accent, with the floor as the key\u2019, to quote Buren. Adding rhythm to the space, two Carrara marble pillars designed by Charles Vandenhove are topped with polished bronze capitals \u2013 one in the shape of a pyramid, the other a truncated pyramid \u2013 whilst a plaster cast by Paolini, evoking Beethoven\u2019s 9th<\/sup> Symphony, is positioned to one side.<\/p>\n Guest artists: Daniel Buren, Sam Francis, Sol LeWitt, Giulio Paolini, Charles Vandenhove.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":910,"template":"","collection_type":[31],"class_list":["post-8706","collection","type-collection","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","collection_type-archives-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n