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The House

Het Huis (The house) is a semi-open pavilion, which was designed by the architects Robbrecht and Daem for temporary exhibitions in Hortiflora and built 2012 Design. The nature in the form of sunlight, wind, insects and falling leaves remains a strong presence in this building.

This openness makes the difference according to Paul Robbrecht between architecture and nature. Het Huis, a tracery of curved steel plates in a gray-green color, was seamlessly integrated into the green surroundings of the park. The pavilion is located at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the garden. The paths to and Het Huis extend diagonally to the originally straight paths of the formal garden. In this way the construction was formally "woven" into the surrounding countryside. The draft also reflects the atmosphere of so-called "rear room" resist, the open spaces in the formal gardens, which are surrounded by natural walls of hedges.

Het Huis was built from folded and bent steel plates in a gray-green color. Since the entire structure rests on a concrete slab, the building seems to float. The floor plan is based on a simple twenty meters long and twelve meters wide rectangle. In rectangle four notches were fitted, which not only serve as inputs of Het Huis - which can be closed off with doors made of steel mesh - but also give rise to different rooms in the floor plan, each equipped with its own combination of closed and open walls. Due to the clever interplay of surfaces and openings of the pavilion - Paul Robbrecht According protection is the essence of architecture - particularly suitable for fragile works of temporary exhibitions that are presented there, without being isolated from the environment.

The pavilion includes the strong tradition - the combination of art and architecture - to which the Middelheim Museum has now developed. The Braempavillon, the pavilion of John Körmeling, "Franchise Unit" of Atelier Lieshout, "Orbino" of Luc Deleu, the collection pavilion and even "Passage of hours" of Pedro Cabrita Reis, and the untitled work by Per Kirkeby all play with the contrast between open and unity, as well as functionality and plasticity. Combine bit by bit the interaction with the audience and a utility function with a unique own form. The Middelheim Museum is by now well-known for the intensive study of the characteristics of the pavilion as a form in itself.

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