AgwA’s main activity can be understood as making spatial structures available (“mettre à disposition”), with all the associated implications. Simultaneously, the term “disposition” refers to the notion of spatial arrangement (“disposition spatiale”) and the actions that can be taken to influence a situation (“prendre des dispositions”). AgwA aspires to integrate these three operational meanings of the French term “disposition” into its architectural practice. While creating striking spatial dispositions, AgwA prioritizes clear and functional architecture, emphasizing simple construction materials and structures.
The exhibition sheds light on the multifaceted concept of “disposition” in AgwA’s work by focusing on three completed projects in Belgium: CHAPEX, the renovation of the Palais des Expositions in Charleroi, undertaken in collaboration with jdviv (Jan De Vylder and Inge Vinck); ECAM, the transformation of a former engineering school in Saint-Gilles into a mixed-use public facility and park; and SERAING, a pedestrian and cycling bridge in Seraing that doubles as a public space, reconnecting two neighborhoods and the train station. These three projects are presented through a variety of mediums, offering a glimpse into AgwA’s process of thinking about and creating architecture. An interview with the architects, drawings, scale models, and photographs showcase their approach and reflect the contemporary Belgian architecture landscape – its roughness and playfulness – and prompt reflection on the societal and cultural relevance of materials, context, spatial gestures, and structures within architecture.
AgwA was established in Brussels between 2003 and 2006 by Harold Fallon, Benoît Vandenbulcke, and Raphaël Cornelis (until 2008). Benoît Burquel joined the leadership team in 2017, followed by Hélène Joos and Nicky Vancaudenberg in 2023. Beyond design, AgwA is actively engaged in academic research and education at various universities. The firm’s partners founded the “Architecture in Practice” research group and have been editing the book series “In Practice” since 2018, which received the DAM Architectural Book Award in 2021. In addition to the aforementioned projects, AgwA’s Belgium Embassy in Beijing will be completed this year. The firm is also slated to finish the INSAS theater and dance School in Brussels by 2025. Currently under development is the refurbishment of an office building into a fire station with integrated accommodation for homeless people in Antwerp.
Cooperation partners:
A+ Architecture in Belgium
BOZAR – Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels