A+ 310 Special issue: Material Flows

As part of the preparations for the exhibition Entangled Matter, Rotor was invited by A+ Architecture in Belgium to guest edit a special issue of the magazine.

In this issue, we wanted to broaden the scope of our thinking on reuse. It is a subject close to our hearts and we have mixed feelings about its growing popularity. On the one hand, we are pleased to see it gaining prominence in material economy visions and (some) policy agendas—outlining possible reconfigurations of the economy. On the other hand, we also see a number of risks that are likely to take this issue into more questionable territory—in particular, and without being exhaustive, the risk that poorly calibrated regulations will undermine the qualities of salvage practices, the (ever-present) risk of a rebound effect, or the risk of doing reuse for reuse's sake to the detriment of a broader reflection on architecture, the environment and the economy.

We have therefore invited a number of contributors to sketch out lines of thought that complement our own. Indeed, it is only through an alliance with other practices that reuse is likely to remain a way of rethinking the organisation of the construction sector. The issues of low-tech, bio-sourced materials and care and maintenance practices are all highlighted in the magazine. Some of the articles also touch on cross-cutting issues, such as the new aesthetic forms resulting from the adoption of reuse, the role of regulation and the economic challenges faced by the pioneers of the so-called circular economy.

The magazine is lavishly illustrated with some great visuals.

A+ 310 Material Flows is available in three languages: English, Dutch and French. It can be ordered via the A+ website.

Table of content

• Foreword, Eline Dehullu
• Editorial, Rotor (Michael Ghyoot, Arne Vande Capelle)
• ‘Materials Flows’. In conversation with Jane Mah Hutton, Lionel Devlieger
• ‘The Salvage Mind’, Aesthetics and authorship, Pierre Chabard
• ‘Materials Don’t Last on Their Own’, Maintenance and sustainability, Pauline Lefebvre
• ‘Opalis’, Professional dealers in reclaimed materials, a photo-reportage by Delphine Mathy
• ‘From Pioneer to Mainstream’, Building reuse, Kristiaan Borret and Jérôme Kockerols
• ‘Techno-Minimalism’, Low-tech, Thomas Vilquin
• ‘Circular Business’, Innovative Entrepreneurship, Lisa De Visscher
• ‘A Practice in Resistance’, discussing Urban Mining, Philippe Simay
• ‘Reuse in seven steps’, Reuse spectrum, Rotor (Michael Ghyoot, Arne Vande Capelle)
• ‘Entangled Matter’, Extracts from the movies Transmutation by Béka & Lemoine

With the contribution of

Arne Vande Capelle, Michaël Ghyoot (for Rotor), Lionel Devlieger and Jane Mah Hutton, Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine, Kristiaan Borret and Jérôme Kockerols, Pierre Chabard, Lisa De Visscher, Pauline Lefebvre, Delphine Mathy, Philippe Simay, Thomas Vilquin    

Title

A+ Architecture in Belgium, n.310

Publication year

2024

Artistic director

Amaryllis Jacobs (A+)

Editor-in-chief

Eline Dehullu (A+)

Guest editors

Michaël Gyoot, Arne Vande Capelle (Rotor)

Exhibitions and lectures

Lara Molino (A+)

Project manager

Céline Van de Velde (A+)

Production coordinator

Grégoire Maus (A+)

Communication and press

Guilliana Venlet (A+)

Editorial board

Gilles Debrun, Elodie Degavre, Nicolas Hemeleers, Kelly Hendriks, Laura Muyldermans, Hera Van Sande, Guillaume Vanneste, Ward Verbakel (A+)

Graphic design

Terry Kritis with Bernardo Berga

Translations

Eva Van Walle (NL), Alain Kinsella (FR), Patrick Lennon (EN)

Copywriting

Charlotte Bonduel (NL)

Copy-editing and proofreading

controltaaldelete.be (NL), Benoît Francès (FR), Patrick Lennon (EN)

Printed by

die Keure (Bruges)

Responsible publisher

Philémon Wachtelaer

ISSN

1375-5072

Languages

Dutch, French, English