The following article was written by Dieter Leyssen, Roxane Le Grelle, Alessandro Cugola and Chloé Nachtergael in the context of the Brussels Archiweek 2021.
Learn more about the project here.
Read the interview made by Julia Wielgus of Dieter Leyssen and Roxane Le Grelle on Glean here.

(…) the appreciation of contemporary architecture, of all architecture in fact, is hindered, not by too little, but by too much knowledge of, or rather about, the subject; by too much information of the wrong kind; and (…) the way to a proper appreciation of architecture is by a process of unlearning rather than of learning.

Charles Marriot, 1937

In the spring of 2021, midst the third wave of Covid19, we - a team of four inside the Brussels-based office of 51N4E - were appointed curator of the Brussels Archiweek 2021, organised by urban.brussels. We proposed to start from the concept of unlearning to review and feature contemporary architecture in the city. During a six months investigation, the concept got unraveled in a creative and cognitive process, ultimately presented to the public as a five-point ‘manifesto’ street panel during a festive opening performance.

1. Un-learning architecture proposes new ways to experience learn about our environment across generations and backgrounds.

Brussels is a diverse city. The appreciation of architecture and the urban environment differs across social groups. To get in touch with a larger scope of opinions, beyond our own social and professional bubble, we launched a call for participants to help us create the program for Archiweek. A group of fifteen Brussels residents, ranging from 8 to 48 years and spanning different ethnic and geographic backgrounds, joined. During a two-day summer workshop, we visited a sample of the selected projects and translated our learnings in a conceptual model of the city, and a list of words in a variety of languages – an ‘abécédaire’ –, expanding the common vocabulary to speak and think about architecture.

2. Un-learning architecture puts wonder at the center of the discussion.

Our approach was deliberately a positive and enthusiastic one. Convinced that it leads to new knowledge and solutions for the challenges we face as a society, we chose for a child-like wonder as main attitude, as it allowed to look at things freely from preconceived attitudes. We exercised this attitude in the form of ‘games’ in the city: a walking workshop with artist-choreographer Floor Van Leeuwen in the North Quarter, a participatory playground by Omar Kashmiry and Maarten Weyns in the Ferme Maximilien, a workshop with kids and JAP, massage sessions in the attic of ISELP, or dancing on the pavement of the ‘open street’ Picaertstraat in Molenbeek

3. Un-learning architecture questions individual habits in relation to collective interests.

In the selection of twenty projects to visit during Archiweek, several were featured in which (new) forms of collectivity are central. Different models to use and share space are explored in Decoratelier or Tic Tac Art Centre, two self-initiated spaces for artistic and performative collaborations, or the community garden on the rooftop of a supermarket in the project Mussentuin. We included one historic building in the selection, the 1920’s Residence Palace, a co-housing avant-la-lettre that combines apartments with collective services open to the city. Investigating and visiting these old and contemporary examples, inspired to question and unlearn prevailing individualism.

4. Un-learning architecture is a humble negotiation with inherited rules and predominant frameworks

Thanks to greater awareness about the environmental crisis we face, people increasingly realize that we need to change the way we build and live. At the same time, we are somewhat rigid in our habits, thinking frameworks, practices and it is difficult to leave them behind. Architecture can be used to negotiate these inherited frameworks. The atelier of Zinneke, one of the selected projects, poses a good example. It questions the realization process, shifting radically to a participatory way of building, using its own onsite atelier to construct building elements. The architects of Ouest also negotiated with the usual permit procedure by drawing in dotted lines an important large window in the back façade, which was only found later-on by circular building company Rotor. Unlearning Architecture also inspired Urban in their process of reviewing the RRU, the main urban regulatory framework for the region, as noted by Sarah Lagrillière, adjunct director general of Urban, on the opening performance of the week, hosted at StamEuropa.

5. Un-learning architecture requires seeing anew or using the beginner’s mind.

The Archiweek was an experiment in using the beginner’s mind, a method from the tradition of Zen Buddhism which refers to an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when studying a subject, even when studying at an advanced level, just as a beginner would. Thanks to the many people involved (the participants, the (non)architects and owners of the twenty projects, the guides, the organisations and individuals organizing games, the administration and cabinet, and of course the public passing by), we took a fresh look to the rich architectural production of the Brussels region. On this thankful note, we end this report where it started, with the introduction of our application in April 2022:

“Imagine that you are strolling through the streets of Brussels, looking at it with a fresh pair of eyes without baggage of the years spent living there, of any specialised training or practical experience. Without preconceptions or prejudices, you have a chance to genuinely wonder about the many buildings, squares, parks, and back lanes and the many people who use them. Like a child, you (re)discover the city and take the time to ask questions — How is it that? Why this? Who is that?”