ghent

high design in the low countries...

this is the architect's own home-office, you can see more on the modestly presented website which looks to me like an updating of a lot of the post-rationalist brick minimalism i'm so fond of...

There's also a fair bit of the Millenium Style, in this case both more sturdily constructed and more painstakingly designed than the UK versions...

Each decade since at least the 70s seems to have been allowed to boldly stamp it's mark right into the heart of the historic centre which seems appropriate as the HS was pretty OTT from the get-go. There must be a few people sitting in the city hall murmering about 'toning things down a bit'...

 sorry to say most of the po-mo is looking really awful (above and below excluded)

 whilst the gritty 70's endure....

graffiti on side of tower block taken during our canal boat trip - the blocks lay in what the guide called  the 'multi-cultural' area of city, just beyond the boundary of our excursion.
 
last random shots...