Daily Camping
Transformation of Parc du Cinquantenaire, Brussels (BE)
Parc du Cinquantenaire is a crucial part of Brussels inhabitant’s everyday life. Our aim is to enhance its current state and guide its sustainable evolution toward a more complex ecosystem and socio-cultural infrastructure. We embrace a broader meaning of ecology, valuing difference and complexity for both human and non-human interactions. Rejecting natural/artificial dichotomies, we focus on the potential of an ever-changing landscape with spontaneous compositions of plants, bacteria, fungi, and animals. We challenge the park’s monumental character, implementing a decolonization strategy. Avoiding additional layers of monumentality, we prioritize contextualization over deletion. Decolonization, learning landscapes, and shared resources promote equality and accessibility in public space. The transformation strategy we propose finds its condensation in Daily Camping. Despite the site’s heritage, symbolism and relevance at a national and European level, the park remains deeply linked to its everyday use and to the daily life of its inhabitants. We believe that in these day to day practices the park finds its identity as a condenser and a junction for the people, connecting their domestic life, work and the public sphere. Daily Camping refers to the necessity to enable people to inhabit and adjust their immediate environment to create a sense of belonging. Entering the park, four Daily Camping stations can be found. Here, a small catalogue of extremely ordinary objects is offered to support leisure activities and spontaneous appropriation: a chair, a sun umbrella, hammocks and reusable cutlery. A small range of tools able to generate a great impact on equality and accessibility of the public space: these small immensities can reduce waste and facilitate access for underprivileged individuals and groups. But more importantly, a culture of sharing can emerge.
Team: Celeste Tellarini + Xander Wilhelm
Stage: Competition, Europan 17 special mention
Year: 2023