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Mont des Arts / Kunstberg Brussels - a cartograhpy of an ecosystem​
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This so called ‘nolli’ map is produced by SumProject+SumResearch, commissioned by the VZW Mont des Arts. The ASBL is committed to the cultural ecosystem on and around Mont des Arts by strengthening cooperation and interaction between cultural institutions and their surroundings.
Giambattista Nolli was an eighteenth-century architect and cartographer whose famous map of Rome provides a fascinating view on the closely branched network of public spaces of streets, alleys, squares, patios, church interiors etc. as the backdrop of the Baroque city.
By analogy, this map depicts the interwoven public and semi-public spaces of Mont des Arts, where different shades of grey give indications of the public or semi-public nature of outdoor and indoor spaces. The map is a street-level projection, moving with the eye level of the passer-by, across the many slopes and stairs in the area.
Like any map, it is not a neutral document. Through its framing and orientation, it relates Mont des Arts to Sablon, the lower town to the upper town. The map is also an anticipation, showing planned projects such as the redevelopment of Place Royale or the future Jewish Museum.
The public character of a place or passage remains an interpretation.
Besides streets, squares, parks, passages etc. the map also involves museums and other cultural institutions, opened historical monuments, cafes and restaurants, shops and galleries, schools, sports and recreational infrastructure as part of the public city.
Above all, this cartography intends to put the activation of public space on the agenda, to discuss the potentialities and obstructions of interactions. The map is intended as a underlay for strategic questions about the (spatial) relationships of major cultural institutions among themselves and their relationship with the city.
But let it also be an invitation to rediscover the city in its kaleidoscopic complexity and to project oneself into urban scenarios yet to be invented.
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Client: asbl Mont des Arts vzw
Team: SumProject + SumResearch
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6257
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