While I’m enjoying sunnier places this week, I wanted to share few fragments of last year’s trip to Denmark. I visited family in the vicinity of Copenhagen and spent a few days wandering the streets of the Danish capital on my own. One of my favorite discoveries was the Glyptoteket, a museum that is dedicated to sculptures but is a work of art on its own. Wandering through its marble clad halls and exploring the luscious winter garden was an absolute dream and a must if you’re ever in Copenhagen.
The combination of plants and rough concrete is one that is always a win in my book and Lisbon‘s Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian proves my point with conviction. This brutalist museum houses the art collection of the foundation named after businessman and philanthropist Calouste Gulbenkian. While the ancient and modern art collection is supposed to be impressive (I have to admit I only ever visited the library), it’s the surrounding gardens that truly make my heart beat faster. The fragments I’m sharing in this blogpost should give you an impression, but why not plan a trip to Lisbon and visit the Gulbenkian yourself? In case you do: boredom won’t be an option because I’ve updated my Lisbon city guide…
If you’ve been following along on Instagram, you have without a doubt noticed I spent the end of the year in my beloved Portugal. Before meeting up with my family for the holidays, I spent 5 days on my own in Lisbon, doing what I love to do most. I revisited my favorite places from when I used to live here, discovered new places and wandered the streets of my favorite city with my camera in hand. I’ll soon blog about my favorite discoveries, but first I wanted to share a few images of the MAAT, Lisbon’s museum for Architecture, Art and Technology. Last year, the majority of the museum was closed to the public, but this year I had better luck. While the expositions I visited were interesting, the museum building itself that was the true highlight of my visit. I couldn’t resist snapping a few new pictures of all the different textures on the billowing facade and the extraordinary view over the Tejo.
During my last visit to Lisbon, I made a quick stop at the CCB in Lisbon’s parish Belém. I visited this cultural center once before, during my Erasmus in 2012, and absolutely loved it, so I couldn’t resist paying it a second visit after I discovered the MAAT. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to go inside and check out the current exhibition (I had a plain to catch), but I did take a closer look at the architecture and was pleasantly surprised. Due to the winter light, the building seemed to be dressed in soft pink tones, which worked beautifully with the CCB’s surrounding greenery and the building’s composition. Just in case you have plans to visit Portugal’s capital, don’t forget to check out my city guide for more tips on what to do in (and around) Lisbon.
Ever since I read about the new museum for architecture, art and technology in Lisbon, or the MAAT, I couldn’t wait to visit this impressive piece of architecture on the bank of the river Tagus in Lisbon’s district of Belém. Unfortunately, I was only able to visit the foyer of the museum, as the new exhibitions were still a work in progress. However, the architecture itself did not disappoint. The tiled facade, curving towards the river, beautifully reflected both the sound of the waves and the play of light on the water surface. On the undulating rooftop, the balustrades and stairs collided into a playful composition of lines. I hope these images give you an impression of Amanda Levete’s design and encourage you to leave Lisbon’s city center for its Belém district. For more must-visits in the wonderful city of Lisbon, have a look at my city guide here.
If the name Jarri Van der Haegen doesn’t ring a bell, the name of his blog Disco Naïveté most certainly will. For 6 years already, Disco Naïveté is the go-to place on the web if you want to know which music will be hot and happening in the future. It is remarkable how much this 25 year old accomplished through blogging, while still keeping both feet firmly planted on the ground and remembering that there’s more to life than work.
We met when Jarri organized the first vierkantwerpen meeting and I immediately knew he’d be the perfect candidate for another Sundaze blogpost, so I asked him to share a peek into his life and show me his favorite spots in the city.
When I spent one – very hot – day in Leipzig, I wasn’t very well prepared as to what I wanted to see in this German city. Luckily my travel companion and fellow architecture enthusiast Enya did her homework and she guided us to the city’s Museum der Bildenden Künsten, the MDBK. While the collection wasn’t our cup of tea (we both prefer modern art, which was only a tiny part of the collection), the building by architects Hufnagel / Pütz / Rafaelian did leave a big impression on us. With its impressive terraces and courtyards, the MDBK offers views to its surroundings that look like pieces of art themselves. A must-see for every architecture lover who visits Leipzig!
Museum der Bildenden Künsten, Katharinenstraße 10, 04109 Leipzig - website
In November I made a trip to Barcelona, where I spent a couple of days with a friend and two days on my own. My friend had to head back sooner than me but I preferred to have more time off from my busy schedule in Belgium. With “Fiets & the city – Barcelona” in hand, I took the metro to Poblenou to check out their recommendations on modern architecture. Herzog and de Meuron’s Museu Blau, the natural history museum, was my favorite discovery, with it’s interesting textures and reflections. Next to Museu Blau, you can also find the Diagonal 00 Telefonica Tower (by Enric Massip-Bosch_EMBA), with its graphic lines. My last stop was Can Framis, Jodi Badia’s concrete museum which houses a collection of contemporary Catalan art. As it was Monday, both museums were closed so unfortunately my architectural field trip was limited to outside views only, but worth it anyway.
After spending one week in Portugal, I took the plane straight from Lisbon to Paris. Living in Belgium, we don’t often get the chance to fly to Paris, and I have to say landing in Paris around 11 PM has resulted in the most beautiful view I’ve ever had from a plane window. No photos unfortunately, as I wasn’t seated by the window, but I still enjoyed the view a lot. That being said: here’s a little impression of how I spent my days in Paris. I was visiting a friend who lives there now, and he took me to all his favorite places. We chilled by the Seine, had drinks at an amazing african bar slash vintage shop slash museum called Le Comptoir Général (80 quai de Jemappes) and explored Deyrolle, a wonderful taxidermy store (46 rue du Bac). And those photos from the Louvre, you ask? Those were taken when my friend was at work and I met up with Marijke, who you might know from the fantastic blog called Goesting. Good times!
Some of you might know that during the past academic year, I was chosen to represent my faculty (engineering sciences at the university of Leuven) as an artist in residence. Together with the other ‘faculty stars’ (each in their own discipline), I got to attend workshops and had the chance to display some of my photos in the halls of the university. However, the cherry on the cake is our current exhibition: me and the four other photographers have our work up on the walls of museum M! I’d love to hear what you think, so if you’re in the neighborhood, stop by to take a look at our photos in the entrance hall (that means it’s for free, so no excuses!) and check out the museum too, the rest of the collection ain’t that bad either. (Our photos will be displayed until August 11, so you’ve got a week and a half!)
Now that I have your attention: I’m also looking for an affordable room in a fun house in Antwerp as I’m leaving Leuven behind in September (or even at the end of August if I find something sooner). If you’ve got some tips, shoot me an email!
Here’s a bonus photo of me looking very proud in front of my photos:
