Retrospective Koen Deprez in the Center for Architecture, NY
The renowned Center for Architecture in New York is devoting an exhibition to the Belgian architect-artist Koen Deprez. Entitled Structure and Event, the exhibition showcases various projects on the basis of drawings and models, such as Phare [Lighthouse], Gevangenisdeur [Prison Door], Table Pratique [Practical Table], Agressieparken [Agression Parks], Strandcabin [Beach Cabin], Woning voor Niemand [Dwelling for No-one], Het Denkbare Huis [The Conceivable House], Elegie voor Joseph Brodsky [Elegy for Joseph Brodsky] and much more. The exhibition is intended as a stroll through time and concludes with the educational project Zelfnavigatie –Self-Navigation, an educational approach which is inextricably connected with Deprez’s world view. A new book under the same title has also been published in connection with the exhibition.
6.11 – 3.12.2014
Retrospective Exhibition: Koen Deprez - Structure and event
Center for Architecture, New York
The Conceivable House
How much imagination can a dwelling take? This question serves as the starting point for an extreme architectural project by Koen Deprez. He designed one floor of an apartment building in Izegem after a novel by W.F. Hermans. The novel is entitled De God Denkbaar, Denkbaar de God [The God Thinkable/Thinkable the God] (1956) and is that author’s strangest work. In the book, events occur simply because they are conceivable, and Deprez applies this random reality in architecture. Each room contains visual points that fire the imagination but do not fit in an encompassing whole. The project puts the flexibility of the dwelling to the test. Black House Gallery provides 16 unique photos from Het Denkbare Huis –The Conceivable House.
Het Denkbare Huis – The Conceivable House will be published in a new book by Publisher Lannoo entitled: Architectuur België. 25 jaar in 75 gebouwen [Architecture in Belgium. 25 Years in 75 Buildings] by Christophe van Gerrewey.
Strand cabin in Ostend
The city of Ostend will next year mount Koen Deprez’s Strandcabine – Beach Cabin. This project originated in a design competition for beach cabins in 1987. At that time, Deprez read Mario Merz on the matter of what people actually do in their homes and all the hidden things that are played out behind the façade. He applied this idea in his designs for beach cabins, which can be used for all sorts of spurious purposes such as prostitution, a place of prayer, a pantry for beverages, etc. One very specific feature of the beach cabin is that the entrance is located at the bottom. It is also placed at the water’s edge, so that it at times can be reached only by swimming.
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