The recently demolished trade fair and exhibition hall in Bruges, which was originally intended to be a reception venue, was erected 50 years ago as a temporary structure.

In recent years it had become increasingly clear that it fell short of contemporary requirements in terms of building physics and programming. For this reason, the City of Bruges is commencing an urban renewal project.
Eduardo Souto de Moura and his collaborator the Belgian practice Meta Architectuurbureau, design the Beursplein & Congresgebouw urban renewal project in Bruges. The new building occupies an approximate area of 4,480 square meters and is intended to house trade fairs, congresses, concerts and other events.

The team of architects lead by Eduardo Souto de Moura have designed the building raised on a glass base with a metal structure that can be opened completely to create a covered public square, where all kinds of events – such as trade fairs and concerts – can take place. At the same time, when no activities are planned, the building can be transformed into public covered square: one that is accessible to all passers-by and forms an integral part of the neighbourhood.

The Beursplein & Congresgebouw are wrapped in a of recycled brick skin (Souto de Moura is develping a brick housing building in Washington), the main volume will be accompanied by an annex building that complements the program and are linked by a common entrance and can be used simultaneously or as completely independent facilities.

Both have a human scale that responds at the same time to the structure of the neighborhood where it is inserted and to an urban plan on a larger scale to attract new activities to the city.

The exhibition hall is organised horizontally, is grafted onto the neighbourhood and is accessible from the outside, the congress hall is stacked vertically. This latter volume, which can accommodate at least 500 people, is designed according to the ‘three-chairs principle’: a conference delegate is allocated a seat in the plenary hall, in the meeting rooms and in the catering space. This dining area is adjacent to a terrace that offers an unparalleled view of the Bruges skyline.

The preservation of the existing and highly-prized trees that currently define the Beursplein was a basic principle for the design team from the very outset.
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Eduardo Souto de Moura in collaboration with Meta Architectuurbureau
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Eduardo Souto de Moura was born in Porto, Portugal in 1952. His father was a doctor (ophthalmologist) and his mother a home maker. He has one brother and one sister. The sister is also a doctor and his brother is a lawyer with a political career – formerly he was Attorney General of Portugal.

Following his early years at the Italian School, Souto de Moura enrolled in the School of Fine Arts in Porto, where he began as an art student, studying sculpture, but eventually achieving his degree in architecture. He credits a meeting with Donald Judd in Zurich for the switch from art to architecture. While still a student, he worked for architect Noé Dinis and then Álvaro Siza, the latter for five years. While studying and working with his professor of urbanism, Architect Fernandes de Sá, he received his first commission, a market project in Braga which has since been demolished because of changing business patterns.

After 2 years of military service he won the competition for the Cultural Centre in Porto. The beginning of his career as an independent architect.

He is frequently invited as a guest professor to Lausanne and Zurich in Switzerland as well as Harvard in the United States. These guest lectures at universities and seminars over the years have afforded him the opportunity to meet many colleagues in the field, among them Jacques Herzog and Aldo Rossi.

He is married and he has 3 daughters: Maria Luisa, Maria da Paz e Maria Eduarda.His wife, Luisa Penha, and the eldest daughter are architects, the second is a nurse and the third is on the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Oporto for the 3rd year.

Along with his architecture practice, Souto de Moura is a professor at the University of Oporto, and is a visiting professor at Geneva, Paris-Belleville, Harvard, Dublin and the ETH Zurich and Lausanne.

Often described as a neo-Miesian, but one who constantly strives for originality, Souto de Moura has achieved much praise for his exquisite use of materials -- granite, wood, marble, brick, steel, concrete -- as well as his unexpected use of color. Souto de Moura is clear on his view of the use of materials, saying, “I avoid using endangered or protected species. I think we should use wood in moderation and replant our forests as we use the wood. We have to use wood because it is one of the finest materials available.”

In an interview with Croquis, he explained, “I find Mies increasingly fascinating...There is a way of reading him which is just to regard him as a minimalist. But he always oscillated between classicism and neoplasticism...You only have to remember the last construction of his life, the IBM building, with that powerful travertine base that he drilled through to produce a gigantic door. Then on the other hand, he arrived in Barcelona and did two pavilions, didn’t he? One was abstract and neo plastic and the other one was 9 classical, symmetrical with closed corners...He was experimenting. He was already so modern he was ‘post’.”

Souto de Moura acknowledges the Miesian influence, speaking of his Burgo Tower, but refers people to something written by Italian journalist and critic, Francesco Dal Co, “it’s better not to be original, but good, rather than wanting to be very original and bad.”

At a series of forums called the Holcim Forum on sustainable architecture, Souto de Moura stated, “For me, architecture is a global issue. There is no ecological architecture, no intelligent architecture, no sustainable architecture — there is only good architecture. There are always problems we must not neglect; for example, energy, resources, costs, social aspects — one must always pay attention to all these.”

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META architectuurbureau is an Belgian architecture firm founded by architect Niklaas Deboutte. The firm is led by Niklaas Deboutte and Eric Soors.
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Published on: July 13, 2018
Cite: "Beursplein & Congresgebouw Brugge by Eduardo Souto de Moura" METALOCUS. Accessed
<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/beursplein-congresgebouw-brugge-eduardo-souto-de-moura> ISSN 1139-6415
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