Outcrop
Where the Rupel and the Sea Channel flow into the river Scheldt, Gijs Van Vaerenbergh will build a piece of artificial landscape on the riverbank. The structure is proposed as a place of rest and discovery along the bicycle path that runs next to the water. Moreover, it is a raised structure and provides a distant view over the landscape.
The construction is conceived as some kind of geological formation and is made of washed concrete. It has a square floor plan divided into a grid of equal triangles. Each of the corners of these triangles is pushed upwards to create a three-dimensional topography. The result is an artificial landmass, a small composition of mountains as it were, described by a triangular mesh.
The cutout of the landscape then both mimics nature—in its untamable mountainlike appearance—but is also a precisely defined geometrical structure—almost a digital mesh model. Just like natural outcrops, the intervention appears as a rock formation that has become visible at the surface.
On this particular place, it defines and marks a space along the river. This marked space is turned into a space of exception, an open platform for activities. But it is equally designed as a volume and thus turned into a landmark along the monotonous and flat riverbanks. Consequently, it is at once part of the landscape and completely detached from it, both seeking an alliance with the surrounding nature and resisting it.
COMISSION
CC Ter Dilft
REALIZATION DATE
2025
LOCATION
Wintam, Belgium