Hans Theys

Hans Theys is a twentieth-century philosopher and art historian. He has written and designed dozens of books on the works of contemporary artists and published hundreds of essays, interviews and reviews in books, catalogues and magazines. All his publications are based on actual collaborations and conversations with artists.

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Luc Deleu

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(c)image: A4A vzw.

VIPCITY - Zeemijl [VIPCITY - the Nautic Mile], 1999-2004

Luc Deleu

Installation , 18.51 x 6 x 2 m

wood, paper, cardboard, styrofoam

The maquette Vipcity - De zeemijl (Vipcity- The Nautical Mile) is a component of "De Onaangepaste Stad” (The Unadapted City), a design-base urban planning study that Deleu, together with his T.O.P. office (Turn On Planning), worked on since 1995. “The Unadapted City” is realized in successive phases. After the earlier-designed districts Brikabrak (1998), Dinkytown (1998-99) and Octopus (1999), Vipcity is the fourth stage: a large subdivision for 38,000 inhabitants in detached houses over a 7.5 kilometer-long urban axis. The length of the city-fragment is proposed to a scale related to one nautical mile: one arc-minute along a meridian of latitude, or 1851 meters. The architectural model is at scale 1/100 and thus has a length of 18.51 meters. Aside from six office-buildings, Vipcity – The Nautical Mile also contains the necessary infrastructure for hotels and restaurants/cafés, sport and leisure, social amenities, transport, etc. This district also has a handy circuit of bicycle paths and an aerial tram. Luc Deleu aspires to demonstrate that some people can still have a hold on the world, and that a gigantic concept such as ‘The Unadapted City’ can even be realized by a small firm, like the T.O.P. office here has done in maquette form.

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