AAVS Brussels 2016: PASSING

BY JEN YOUNG TAN

P A S S I N G A AV S B R U S S E L S : T H E H O U S E O F P O L I T I C S

PAS S I NG | 1

PAS S I NG | 2

LOCATION European Parliment

DURATION 7 to 19 July 2016

BRIEF Using the medium of critical instrument to analyze the role of architecture within a political context. This workshop focused on the European Parliment, home of the European Union, to create understanding and awareness of the importance of architecture as a representation of a unique political body. As such, this exercise aspires to use film as a tool of mediation to challenge the poetics of architecture and ultimately, allow the viewer to gain a different perspective of a familiar building.

PAS S I NG | 3

SITE / FILM LOCATION

PAS S I NG | 4

PAS S I NG | 5

OVERACHING CONCEPTS POLITICS / THE POLITICAL / SUPRANATIONAL / SPACE / NONPLACE / RELATIONAL / AFFECT / SIGN / MEDIA / DESIRE / BELONGING

DISCUSSION AND RESEARCH Defining rules, borders and spaces What constitutes as an institution?

Conflict of interests Representing an organization -- the plurality of nationalities Boundaries - spatial, social, mental and political Is the European Parliment simply a place of transit?

Importance of evoking a sense of belonging within the European Union Belgium as a reflection of the European Union - an entity without its own identity Need for balance between dispersion and connection Confrontation between collective decisions and individual actions

PAS S I NG | 6

PAS S I NG | 7

PAS S I NG | 8

INTERSTITIAL SPACES My approach aims to showcase the spaces within the European Parliment that are traditionally deemed less important.

These interspaces – corridors, bridges and staircases - are essentially the spaces that keep the building circulating and functioning, connecting ‘crucial’ areas together.

The film will attempt to try and evoke emotion from these seemingly “emotionless” and merely functional spaces. It hopes to extract some sort of poetic atmosphere and beauty that otherwise would not have been noticed. This is done through using architecture elements as unique framing points.

Another theme within the film focuses on purpose through action i.e. making otherwise insignificant architecture meaningful. As Tschumi states, “Architecture is defined by the actions it witnesses as much as by the enclosure of its walls.” The motion of even a single person traipsing through the frame reflects how human activity can completely transform the mood of a space.

PAS S I NG | 9

1 // IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL LOCATIONS Corridors, stairways and framed views.. Essentially finding places that are often unnoticed, that are transient.

Searching for an alternate perspective of a certain space, and then capturing the human activity within.

PAS S I NG | 1 0

PAS S I NG | 1 1

2 // STORYBOARD Speculating human activity within each space, and the arrangement of scenes - active decision not to have a beginning or end..

An endless cycle of movement

PAS S I NG | 1 2

PAS S I NG | 1 3

3// FILMING

PAS S I NG | 1 4

PAS S I NG | 1 5

4// SCENES FROM FILM

PAS S I NG | 1 6

PAS S I NG | 17

PAS S I NG | 1 8

5// PRESENTATION

PAS S I NG | 1 9

P A S S I N G A AV S B R U S S E L S : T H E H O U S E O F P O L I T I C S