An architecture exhibition that evokes emotions
An exhibition on the work of Marie-José Van Hee, on show at the Architecture and Design Museum Helsinki until September, presents the design approach of the Belgian architect and brings to life one of her works in a 1:1 scale.
Last August, Belgian architect Marie-José Van Hee (b. 1950) shattered a glass ceiling when she became the first woman to receive as a sole recipient the prestigious Alvar Aalto Medal. In the nearly 60-year history of this international architecture award and among its fifteen recipients, only once before has the award been granted to a woman as part of an architect duo.
According to the Medal jury, Van Hee's work shows a consistently sensitive, contextual, and finely crafted approach. Her architecture is rooted in its context and the surrounding landscape and characterised by a beautifully understated command of natural materials, light and proportions, producing quiet, intimate spaces designed around daily life.
Read more about the Alvar Aalto Medal awarded to Marie-José Van Hee via this link.
Now, one such living space designed by Van Hee can be experienced in the exhibition Marie-José Van Hee – For sun and wind to paint on at the Architecture and Design Museum Helsinki. The exhibition features a full-scale recreation of the living areas of a house in South Holland. A two-sided fireplace separates the dining and living spaces, and a terrace, visible through large windows, brings the garden into the experience through a wall-sized painting.
Marie-José Van Hee herself, together with architect Sam De Vocht from her office and the museum’s curator Jutta Tynkkynen, curated the exhibition.
Sam De Vocht explained that Van Hee begins her design process by thoroughly studying the building site, observing how light filters through the trees and identifying the most natural placement for the house. Her creative approach is conveyed to exhibition visitors through a multitude of sketches drawn with a soft pencil. A serene, beautifully filmed video takes viewers through the house in its real surroundings.
The exhibition highlights House HdF in Zuidzande, Netherlands, while additional works by Marie-José Van Hee are displayed “outside the house” through small images and descriptions. A featured film provides a broader insight into her architectural approach and body of work.
The exhibition manages to present architecture on a human scale and in a deeply personal way. Its focused, even intimate atmosphere allows visitors to experience architecture not only intellectually but also emotionally.
The exhibition is open at the A-building, former architecture museum premises, of the Architecture and Design Museum until September 14, after which it will travel to the Aalto2 Museum Center in Jyväskylä. Simultaneously, the D-building of the museum hosts a beautiful exhibition on the works and life of textile artist Maija Lavonen.
