ARCHITECTUE, URBAN STUDIES? SCENOGRAPHIES
URBAN STUDIES AND COMPETITIONS
LAb[au], laboratory for art and urbanism
Cities are not only built; they are continuously rewritten as artistic practice extends its canvas into the public realm.
Kontext(e), 2020
Urban lighting competition for pedestrian crossings
Freiham, Munich, Germany
In collaboration with Bartenbach Lighting Design, Austria
A6K E6K, 2019
Urban design study for the redevelopment of the former Tri Postal
Commissioned by Catch-Charleroi, Creative and Digital Catalyst
Charleroi, Belgium
Lakeshore, 2016
Finalist in the urban development competition for Block 8
In collaboration with Mills Public Art Management
Lakeshore Station, Toronto, Canada
Brussels Ring Culture, 2016
First Prize in the Urban Redevelopment Competition
Redevelopment of the city ring from Porte de Louise to Porte de Namur
In collaboration with Polo Architects and Arcadis, Brussels, Belgium
Maubeuge, 2015
Pre-feasibility study for an artistic light trail
City centre of Maubeuge, France
Commissioned by the Urban Community of Maubeuge Val de Sambre
The Gardiner, 2011
Finalist in the competition to transform the Gardiner Expressway
In collaboration with Mills Public Art Management
Gardiner Expressway, Toronto, Canada
Silo d'Arenc, 2010
Finalist in the competition for the redesign of the public realm
Le Silo d'Arenc, Marseille, France
Lotto Arena, 2009
Lighting study for the Lotto Arena and its surroundings
Commissioned by Thierry De Ridder, Talkability
City Ring, Antwerp, Belgium
Belliard, 2009
Urban design and lighting scheme for Rue Belliard
Commissioned by Art & Facts in collaboration with Université libre de Bruxelles and the European Parliament,
Rue Belliard, Brussels, Belgium
A Driving Perception, Workshop, 2003
INDESEM, urban planning workshop
TU Delft, Delft, The Netherlands
Lightscape(s), displacement maps, 2000
Lighting master plan for the Heysel Plateau for UEFA Euro 2000
Heysel Plateau and the A12 motorway, Brussels, Belgium
Commissioned by Electrabel/Sibelgaz (now Engie), Brussels, Belgium
Transit(e), 1998
Urban study rethinking the city and its hinterland
Midi Station and its surroundings, Brussels, Belgium
Commissioned by AVA, SPRL Patrice Neirinck
Réalité / Fictions, 1998
Urban study and exhibition exploring seven critical fictions for Euralille 2
FMJ project by LAb[au], in dialogue with Marin Kasimir and David Everard
Round-table discussion with Jean Nouvel and Rem Koolhaas
Commissioned by the Lille Flandres Intercommunal Authority
Espace Croisé, Euralille, Lille, France
Liquid Axis, 1997
3rd Prize in the International Urban Design Competition
Aristotelous: Redesigning the Civic Axis of Thessaloniki
City centre, Thessaloniki, Greece
URBAN LANDMARKS
Catadioptric Tower, 2019
Study for the redevelopment and branding of a logistics hotel
In collaboration with AIA Architects, Lyon
Commissioned by ELLU (Lyon Urban Logistics Space)
Urban logistics hub, Avenue Tony Garnier, Lyon, France
Palimpsest, 2016
Realisation of a permanent light artwork
De Porre cooling tower complex
Commissioned by the City of Ghent
De Porre, Ghent, Belgium
SiloScope, 2011
Realisation of a permanent cybernetic urban sculpture
Realised under the French 1% artistique programme
Quai de la Seine, Vitry-sur-Seine, Paris, France
Transmit, 2011
Urban design competition for Grand Lyon Habitat
In collaboration with Superflux and Roger Tator, Lyon, France
Boulevard des États-Unis, Cité Tony Garnier, Lyon, France
Résidence Plein Ciel, 2008
Artistic intervention in a housing estate
Commissioned by La Ferme du Buisson, José Manuel Gonçalvès
Résidence Plein Ciel, Le Mée-sur-Seine, France
Weathertower, 2008–2009
Illumination of Dexia Tower
Commissioned by Dexia Bank under CEO Axel Miller
Dexia Tower, Place Rogier, Brussels, Belgium
Chronotower, 2007
Generative illumination of Dexia Tower
Commissioned by Dexia Bank under CEO Axel Miller
Dexia Tower, Place Rogier, Brussels, Belgium
TOUCH, 2006–2007
Interactive illumination of Dexia Tower
Commissioned by Dexia Bank under CEO Axel Miller
Dexia Tower, Place Rogier, Brussels, Belgium
Beffroi (watchtower), 2001
Real-time panoramic and networked landscape
Commissioned study by the City of Tournai
Beffroi de Tournai, Tournai, Belgium
ARCHITECTURE
Recent projects such as the Colour Archive, the Library of Possibles and Probables, and the Spaces of Time extend LAb[au]'s architectural thinking into constructs of language, colour, memory, and time—architectures of knowledge and linguistic art.
Pergola, 2016
Kinetic kiosk
Study and realisation of a 10 × 10 m temporary installation
Commissioned by HD Metz Muse
Centre Pompidou-Metz, Metz, France
Knit, 2013
Artistic illumination of the main facade of the Palais de Justice
Commissioned by the City of Brussels
Palais de Justice, Brussels, Belgium
Knit, 2012
Artistic illumination proposal for the Victoria and Albert Museum
Commissioned by V&A
V&A, London, United Kingdom
Chronographical Tower, 2012
Roof extension connected to an installation in the centre of the tower
Study commissioned by Transcultures and the City of Mons
In the context of Mons 2015 – European Capital of Culture
Tour Valenciennoise, Mons, Belgium
M0t1f, 2009
Artistic illumination proposal for a historic monument façade
Study commissioned by Second Nature and the City of Marseille
In the context of Marseille-Provence 2013 – European Capital of Culture
Maison Diamenté, Marseille, France
Dome of Light, 2009
Study for the interior design of a desacralised church
Study commissioned by Francesco Ravo
In the context of the transformation of the church into a nightclub
Slautsky Church, Brussels, Belgium
Moebius panoramic pavilion, 2001
Sculptural pavilion in collaboration with Marin Kasimir
Nantes, France
RGB Pavilion, 1998
Proposal for a projection pavilion for the Cannes Film Festival
Commissioned by Mitic Club
La Croisette, Cannes, France
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Cabri(v)olet, 1996
Competition entry for a self-sustaining housing prototype
In collaboration with Bernard Delville (Mass Moving)
Organised by Electrabel, Belgium
V.A.X., 1996
3rd Prize in the competition for a public school project
Petegem, Belgium
Artbox, 1995
3rd Prize in the ideas competition 'A Way of Living '
R35, Waregem, Belgium
15h05 house, 1995
Commission for a private house
Philippeville, Belgium
SCENOGRAPHIES
Catwalk, 1999
Catwalk design study for Paris Fashion Week
Commissioned by the Belgian fashion designer Crstof
Paris, France
La Langue Française, 1998
Exhibition concept and realisation of the 'Tunnel of Languages'
Commissioned by encore… bruxelles, Joël Benzakin
Brussels, Belgium
Play, 1998
Exhibition concept and scenography based on Marcos Novak's
'Six Degrees of Virtuality'
Commissionned by encore… bruxelles, Joël Benzakin
Brussels, Belgium
GameVillage, 1997
Exhibition concept and scenography for a 6,000 m² exhibition
Celebrating 30 years of video games
In collaboration with AVA Architects
Commissioned by Infogram, France
Lyon, France
NETWORKED ARCHITECTURES
These early network architectures explored the web as a living archive rather than a repository of information. Libraries, taxonomies, identities, and urban structures became dynamic systems generated through navigation, interaction, and collective participation—questions that continue to inform LAb[au]'s research today.
Polygon Den(c)ity, 2003
Urban morphology transformed into a musical score for a real-time spatial concert
Invited by New Museum
New Museum, New York, USA
electroscope(s), 2001
Real-time 3D networked environment
Invited by Fabric|ch
ACM SIGGRAPH, Los Angeles, USA
i-skin, virtual embodiment, 2000
Computational fashion generating avatars through image profiling
In collaboration with the Belgian fashion designer Crstof
Avignon 2000, Avignon, France
Cityscapes, 1999
Cartographic discussion platform generating indexes of collective knowledge
Commissioned by ART.image Festival, Charlotte Pöchhacker
Graz, Austria
Telezone, 1999
Experiment in collaborative computational urbanism
Ars Electronica Festival
Linz, Austria
i-tube, 1998
Information architecture replacing semantic search with behavioural navigation and collective profiling