Material Assembly is an invitation to explore Brussels’ architecture through its makers and its craftspeople. During guided visits of projects and ateliers we zoom in on the different hands coming together in shaping the city, highlighting its rich assemblage of materiality.

Brussels is a rich assemblage of varied materials and architectural approaches, brought to life by its myriad of cultures and people. Its architectural landscape tells a compelling narrative of accumulation and change, with each era leaving its unique mark through tactile materials and the stories they tell. This year’s archiweek theme, Material Assembly, is an invitation to explore and reflect on the narratives embedded in the very materials of today’s architecture.
Looking into the future, the narrative shaped by our chosen materials becomes ever more critical. How can we ensure that the materials of tomorrow will tell new engaging stories of environmental resilience?

Understanding the city's architecture as an assemblage of materiality, Material Assembly brings people together and invites you to observe built projects through three different lenses by zooming in on:

1. The dialogues between past and present: in this perpetual change of Brussels as a collage city, looking at material juxtapositions in renovation projects reflects past and present stories.
2. The circular life of materials: by disassembling materials that can be salvageable and reassembling them in new configurations, architecture can consider what once was obsolete as new.
3. The revival of craftsmanship: defined as a living art, craftsmanship continues to exist through its craftspeople; by zooming in on their collaborative work in today’s architectural landscape, we can understand the transformation from conceptual ideas into tactile realizations.

Understanding architecture as a vehicle for assembly we invite you to gather around projects, debates and atelier visits from October 5rd to 13th for the 2024 archiweek.

The curatorial team: Dérive-esque

The archiweek’s curatorial team is composed of the Brussels based and research driven practices esque and Dérive who make space for dialogue between a variety of actors involved in city making.

Core team for Material Assembly:
Arnaud Naômé (esque), Myriem Saoud (esque), Hedwig van der Linden (Dérive), Damiaan Van Dun (esque), Kevin Westerveld (Dérive)