Sylvie Smeets
GENIUS LOCI. Academie van Bouwkunst (The Netherlands)
The painting ‘Betroffener Ort’ by Paul Klee evokes a feeling, which in a certain sense also applies to the Genius Loci. The building creates a place of involvement, a special place in Maastricht, at the transition of the two historical parts of the city, in the middle of the river Maas, on the “water square” next to the pier.
Genius Loci creates a new place for the city and its visitors: the building defines a space, between the Wilhelminabridge and the Sint-Servaasbridge, which pulls the visitor out of its familiar environment and gives the possibility to expand the boundaries of imagination.
Genius Loci initiates the visitors into the mythical-religious perception of water and wind, a perception different from that visible in the old townscape. Yet Genius Loci maintains a certain association with it.
The design regards the building as a theatre. The Greek word ‘theamai’ means: I watch with astonishment. New atmospheres come into existence which hover between art and non-art, between theatre and non-theatre. Performing theatre is not the same as performing fiction; it is determining a point of view from which things should be seen. When theatre is described in such a way, the chosen medium is not of essential importance.
Genius Loci offers a platform to the different forms of expression. The spaces are multi-functional, yet each specifically named. Spaces are an abstraction and their shape continuously changes by the way the visitor observes, watches and moves. The developed programme acts as a generator for the building and its location. By means of the programme, Genius Loci virtually brings the city’s cultural route inside the building. At the same time, many visitors will find it the ideal starting point for their cultural route through the city. The moment the visitor enters the building, a perception is started via the sequence of spaces: his location is always connected with the space where he was and where he appears to be heading to. Thus Genius Loci produces the spiritual consciousness of moving water and moving winds: a place of perception, expression and signification.
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