Brutalism on a Human Scale. Post-war Architecture by Léon Stynen (1899-1990)

During the London Festival of Architecture in June 2019 you can visit 'Brutalism on a Human Scale. Post-war Architecture by Léon Stynen (1899-1990) '. With an exhibition, installation and tour, the Flanders Architecture Institute introduces visitors to Stynens brutalism and his special attention to the human scale.

Exhibition
'Brutalism on a Human Scale. Post-war Architecture by Léon Stynen (1899-1990)' focuses on the post-war architecture of the Belgian architect Léon Stynen (1899-1990). His post-war oeuvre is characterised by brutalist architecture with a sensitivity to the human scale. It reflects the wealth and wit of post-war architecture, and it highlights the contemporary relevance of modern heritage. Léon Stynen wrote that only humankind should form the basis of architecture. With his designs, he intended to contribute to the creation of a modern environment for the contemporary individual. Stynen's oeuvre is not only particularly extensive, but also demonstrates that he mastered all the scales of the profession; from the landscape to the interior.

Léon Stynen epitomises a generation of post-war modernist architects in Europe. Their oeuvres and profiles share many similarities. Typically, these architects were part of a strong national and international network. They were up-to-date and knowledgeable, prolific and varied builders, consummate professionals, and able to access large-scale, highly visible commissions for the welfare state. Showing Stynen’s oeuvre at the brutalist Silver building, a former brewery by the Irish architects Munce & Kennedy, underlines the value of modernist heritage and its contemporary relevance.

Installation
The wooden structures enclosing the public space in front of the Silver Building, created in collaboration with Eagles of Architecture and a group of high school students, analyse the proportions in Stynen’s façades. Ten large photographs by Filip Dujardin show Stynen’s buildings in their current condition. In the boiler rooms, a selection of exceptional pieces from the Stynen archive - part of the collection of the Flanders Architectural Institute - reflect the genius of Stynen’s oeuvre, and the wealth of paper architecture.

Opening and panel: The Future of the Other Modern
6 June 2019 from 7.15 pm until 11 pm
The curators interpret Stynen's oeuvre and a discussion takes place about the future of post-war modernism in Belgium and the United Kingdom.

Guided tour:
6 June 2019 from 7.15 pm until 8 pm
Nina Serulus and Bart Tritsmans, curators at the Flanders Architecture Institute, will give a guided tour in the exhibition.

London Festival of Architecture
The London Festival of Architecture began in 2004, and has since grown to become the world’s largest annual architecture festival. The festival attracts a vast public audience – well over 600,000 people in 2018 – and a global media audience of millions. The vast majority of events are free.

Find out more about London Festival of Architecture 2019 en The Silver Building