Adjustments to Rubensplein Square

photo: Petr Šmídek, 2012

The renowned Belgian seaside resort Knokke is flooded not only with tourists, who mostly arrive by car. Therefore, it seems that all squares in Knokke lack underground parking and adjacent driveways and exits. The Rubensplein square also hides underground parking beneath the surface.
When the underground parking was built on the seaside promenade in Knokke, there was an opportunity to redesign the triangular square above the parking lot. It offers associations with the paintings of Georges Seurat, with people waiting and children playing in the area. The color of the pavement is perhaps a reference to the technique called pointillism (which Seurat was a significant representative of), and the maritime colors of the concrete slabs refer to the nearby sea.
Glass panels with long benches on both sides provide effective protection against the wind. This linear arrangement of public space is a suitable place to sit and supervise playing children. The square has become a backdrop waiting for activities and relaxation. A height difference of 1.2m is incorporated in the form of stone waves.
The architects of this project often incorporate works by contemporary artists into their designs; here it involves two sculptures by Franz West – two 5m tall heads made of durable synthetic resin. The architects' choice fell on a series of sculptures that West calls Lemur. West himself describes them as a satirical form and grotesque in the tradition of carnivals (Perhaps a remembrance of James Ensor, who drew satirical scenes for his paintings precisely in Knokke). These two heads look at each other, maintaining a diagonal dialogue in the space of the triangular square. The appearance of the sculptures changes significantly with our angle of view. From some places, they appear as white clouds that escaped from a bottle; at other times as monsters or as figures with prominent foreheads and small mouths staring vacantly into the void facing the horizon of the sea.
The determining force lies in the simplicity of the execution. The two head sculptures are placed on cylindrical pedestals, which are in fact exits from the underground parking. Long classic double-sided benches and uniform pavement. It evokes a feeling of interior more than that of an outdoor public space. Or perhaps occasionally in the sunshine, we have the feeling that we are walking on the seabed, where sand glimmers beneath our feet and rays reflect off the azure surface.