Bekaert, Geert, Kim Zwarts — Charles Vandenhove 1985=1995

Nai, 1994 Cloth, with dust jacket. 206 pages. Text in several languages. As new. Text in French, English and Dutch. Recent work by the Belgian architect, seen through the eyes of architectural philosopher and critic Geert Bekaert and architectural photographer Kim Zwarts. Bekaert outlines the character of Vandenhove's architecture and possible developments in it. Vandenhove's designs are 'classical' in the sense that they connect with tradition. Through his idiosyncratic and innovative approach, this familiar-looking but essentially modern architecture acquires a special mood that can be described as sober beauty and 'timelessness'. Kim Zwarts, too, creates atmosphere in his powerful, almost exclusively black and white photographs. Through lighting, contrast, viewpoint and framing he sets accents and often creates a charged, somewhat 'uneasy' atmosphere. In total 29 works are documented in this way, partly as drawings or models. The book closes with a list of 39 projects from 1985-1995, mainly in the Netherlands (The Hague, Amsterdam, Maastricht) and Belgium, and lists the staff of the office.