Kaleidoscope – Continuity, Fragment, Ornament, Tectonics

The second edition of the Kaleidoscope workshop, involving the universities of Liège and Hasselt (BE), Eindhoven (NL) and Wuppertal (DE), was dedicated to the Hôtel Torrentius in Liège. The building is one of the few surviving architectural testimonies to the appropriation of Italian Renaissance models (1565) in Liège and is attributed to the architect Lambert Lombard. Between 1978 and 1981, architect Charles Vandenhove transformed it into his architectural practice space, offering a creative reinterpretation of the building. By combining specific references and approaching the project from a stylistic point of view, he turned the building into a point of reference for his peers and opened up the debate on the meaning and role of postmodernism in Belgium.

The students' task was to re-read the site to suit the future public and cultural function of the "Fondation Jeanne et Charles Vandenhove". The students had six days in Liège to study the building on all levels - from the urban to the detailed. Based on the four given themes - continuity, fragment, ornament and tectonics - the students examined the building itself, its changes over time and its place in the city. The transformation of the building from private to public use was a particular point that spurred the students into action. The results ranged from new public connections to the city centre to structural redesigns and the conception of exhibition furniture.