A new visitor center and archive building (the Rubenianum) are being constructed around the historic garden. The scheme is Palladian, with both volumes executed in a domestic Mannerist language that grafts itself onto the surroundings. The relationship between architecture and trompe-l’oeil was deeply entwined during Rubens’ lifetime and a subject of contemporary debate. Rubens was greatly influenced by figures such as Vredeman de Vries, Giulio Romano, Michelangelo, and Scamozzi. For those Mannerists, there was no absolute boundary between two-dimensional representations and three-dimensional constructions. The trompe l’oeil facades of the new buildings suggest the illusion of depth within a classical articulation. They playfully transform from an oblique angle into semi-abstract intarsia as a noteworthy form of ornamentation.
Rubens House Extension
Antwerp
- Design teamDirk Somers, Carole Boeckx, Axel Chevroulet, Vera Bannwart, Sander Laureys, Tobias Puhlmann and Odair Nelson Fortes
- LocationAntwerp
- Year2016
- ClientCity of Antwerp
- StatusCompetition
- In collaboration withLandinzicht, landscape architects and Callebaut Architects