Like a symphonic poem, An Architectural Anthology brings together a variety of works and voices: 5 Themes, 9 Key Projects, 11 Titles, 49 Voices, 63 Projects, 75 Glosses. The book shows how the practice has grown systematically and how the practice is defined by a number of themes that permeate its body of work. This publication focuses on Robbrecht en Daem’s various collaborations with artists, their dialogic approach to the old masters of architecture (Mies van der Rohe, Victor Horta, Henry van de Velde, Boris Iofan en Marcel Breuer), their attention to the human presence in their buildings, their design of objects, and finally their fascination with numbers.
The anthology presents archive material never previously seen: scale models, working plans and sketches to which have been added recently drafted plans and photographs of completed projects taken by renowned international photographers. The publication contains reflective entries writtenby the architects themselves, by likeminded people, thinkers and critics. These are being anthologized for the first time, thus making them accessible to an international audience.”