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MATUVU SQUARE
MATUVU SQUARE
Albertplein, Knokke-Heist, Belgium
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Other Projects by Philippe SAMYN and PARTNERS, architects & engineers
MATUVU SQUARE
Albertplein, Knokke-Heist, Belgium
Type
STATUS
Built
YEAR
2024
SIZE
5000 sqft - 10,000 sqft
BUDGET
Undisclosed
The sea evokes dreams:
The Albertplein, once the dynamic, beating heart of Knokke-Heist is a square where a certain idea of harmonious ambiguity takes place, haute couture standing alongside coolers plainly and simply. It is called “Matuvu square” for a reason (litterally: “show-off square”). The project aims at highlighting the richness of this setting.
The central hemispherical pavilion is an ode to light. As music relates to silence, reflection relates to transparency, and shadow to light. Hence the dome’s pattern, consisting of two types of “super crystal clear” glass. One half of the triangles consists of regular clear reflective glass, whereas the other half consists of the same glass, treated with a very special coating, which makes almost all reflections disappear.
This effect of endlessness and freedom is strengthened by the reflecting pool around the pavilion, visually giving it the scope of a full sphere. The pavilion not only provides the intended ambiguity, an interplay between reflection and transparency, but also a high level of MATUVU: you see and are seen!
By draining the fountain, the square becomes a stage for arts of all kinds and becomes a space for exceptional events: dance, theatre, music, an imaginative car show, even an ice-skating rink in the winter. The pavilion can also be completely emptied and used for various purposes. This diversity of people and activities adds colour to this deliberately colourless design.
The frame of the dome consists of an Isonode structure, discovered by Philippe Samyn, which solves an almost impossible geometric problem: to make a dome with quasi-identical three-dimensional requirements (that is, they have only one degree of freedom). Thin polished stainless-steel profiles outline the frame and border the triangular glazing, which also plays a role in the global stability by preventing lateral buckling of the profiles and damping the vibrations of the structure. This is done by the silicones joints that attach them to the structure.
The square becomes an invitation to dreams and creativity. Therefore, it is important to remove the Poet from his unwieldy concrete pedestal and to place him in the water, as if floating above, or rising from the water.
The square is covered with a large rectangular carpet of 67 m x 30 m in checkerboard of black and white concrete slabs extended on all four sides by fringes also alternating black and white stripes. The slabs are made of geopolymer (concrete produced from metallurgical slag) dotted with coins from all over the world, as an evocation of travels and a total antidote to the visual pollution of chewing gums! Besides the cosmopolitan touch, this addition will also have an artistic and sustainable value for the MATUVU square.
The MATUVU square not only becomes again the place to be, but also the place to invent, to gather, to communicate, to dream, to... to be.
Please visit our site for more information and images:
www.samynandpartners.com/portfolio/644-matuvu-square/
in association
The Albertplein, once the dynamic, beating heart of Knokke-Heist is a square where a certain idea of harmonious ambiguity takes place, haute couture standing alongside coolers plainly and simply. It is called “Matuvu square” for a reason (litterally: “show-off square”). The project aims at highlighting the richness of this setting.
The central hemispherical pavilion is an ode to light. As music relates to silence, reflection relates to transparency, and shadow to light. Hence the dome’s pattern, consisting of two types of “super crystal clear” glass. One half of the triangles consists of regular clear reflective glass, whereas the other half consists of the same glass, treated with a very special coating, which makes almost all reflections disappear.
This effect of endlessness and freedom is strengthened by the reflecting pool around the pavilion, visually giving it the scope of a full sphere. The pavilion not only provides the intended ambiguity, an interplay between reflection and transparency, but also a high level of MATUVU: you see and are seen!
By draining the fountain, the square becomes a stage for arts of all kinds and becomes a space for exceptional events: dance, theatre, music, an imaginative car show, even an ice-skating rink in the winter. The pavilion can also be completely emptied and used for various purposes. This diversity of people and activities adds colour to this deliberately colourless design.
The frame of the dome consists of an Isonode structure, discovered by Philippe Samyn, which solves an almost impossible geometric problem: to make a dome with quasi-identical three-dimensional requirements (that is, they have only one degree of freedom). Thin polished stainless-steel profiles outline the frame and border the triangular glazing, which also plays a role in the global stability by preventing lateral buckling of the profiles and damping the vibrations of the structure. This is done by the silicones joints that attach them to the structure.
The square becomes an invitation to dreams and creativity. Therefore, it is important to remove the Poet from his unwieldy concrete pedestal and to place him in the water, as if floating above, or rising from the water.
The square is covered with a large rectangular carpet of 67 m x 30 m in checkerboard of black and white concrete slabs extended on all four sides by fringes also alternating black and white stripes. The slabs are made of geopolymer (concrete produced from metallurgical slag) dotted with coins from all over the world, as an evocation of travels and a total antidote to the visual pollution of chewing gums! Besides the cosmopolitan touch, this addition will also have an artistic and sustainable value for the MATUVU square.
The MATUVU square not only becomes again the place to be, but also the place to invent, to gather, to communicate, to dream, to... to be.
Please visit our site for more information and images:
www.samynandpartners.com/portfolio/644-matuvu-square/
in association
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