Welcome to Last Resort

Last Resort was a 12-day summer school in which ConstructLab members lived and worked together in the domain of Rubens Castle as part of the Stories Unfold programme. This group of both international and local architects, designers, and artists inhabited the temporary resort, along with 30 national and international participants, neighbourhood volunteers, and visitors. This group, later named ‘The Resortians’, collectively worked with the site and its surroundings to develop several workshop formats. These ranged from research, (graphic) design and building to performance and cooking. Thinking about Rubens Castle, with the idea of it as a resort, Constructlab (the Resortians) critically inhabited the space and researched its historical development, its future role as a tourist attraction, and the environmental challenges it faces. Keep an eye out for traces of the workshops around the domain!

Constructlab is a transdisciplinary design-build network that brings together architectural concepts and construction. While breaking with traditional divisions of labor, the organization engages a team of multidisciplinary designer-builders – as well as sociologists, urban planners, graphic designers, curators, educators and web developers – who carry the creative process from the drawing board to the field. At the heart of this work, which includes commissioned and self-initiated projects throughout the world, is the desire to design spaces of togetherness, of collaborative learning, spaces in which a new (or rediscovered) sense of place may be experienced.

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The map of the Last Resort

FLORA-pavilion

Rubens castle

Campsite

Fruit orchard

Local shop

to Last Resort

‘ Last Resort ’ refers to the climate crisis we are currently in and is an ironic reference to the artificial and commercialised holiday resorts that are part of the tourist industry. This is a shared criticism by Flanders Tourism, who are developing ‘Reizen naar morgen’: a slower and more sustainable approach to tourism in Flanders. By working with and reflecting on the environmental crisis and the leisure function of the domain, we hacked the concept of a resort and spurred the urgency for action and togetherness.

The modern hunters and gatherers

Lore Snauwaert, graphic designer & cook (BE)

How can we feed 50 people and be in harmony with nature? With the aim of locally sourcing as much food as possible, The Resortians foraged edible plants from the domain and visited neighbouring farmers and other food producers. At the same time they were also building and (re)evaluating the kitchen structure, not only its physical design but also the social hierarchies present and ways of handling water and waste responsibly. Their efforts combined to result in the construction of a modular outdoor kitchen that fulfilled the needs of the nomadic lifestyle and collected knowledge on edible plants in and around the domain.

(Location: various & activated by the Stories Unfold culinary programme)

How to read the landscape

Antonin Basser, landscape architect (CH)

The Resortians disassembled the castle domain to reveal the components that are the pillars of the landscape. Together they explored, listened to and analysed the landscape. The vegetation and animals that live in the space tell a great deal about what happened in the past and about the healthiness of the site today. The in-depth observation of the domain led to a personal portrait of the site as it was experienced by The Resortians.

(Location of the artefacts: ‘local shop’)

How to sit?

Through collective experiments, prototypes and configurations, new seating arrangements were created daily. These creations allowed for reflection, promoted different formations and new ways of gathering, especially in regard to social dynamics when serving and sharing a meal. Throughout the Last Resort these experiments later evolved into playful seating surfaces that are situated in and around the FLORA pavilion and castle grounds.

Victor Calame, designer and craftsman (FR) & Victoria van Kan, architect (BE)

(Location of the artefacts: FLORA pavilion and fruit orchard)

powerRe-sortingterritories

Mascha Fehse, architect (DE) & Andries de Lange, designer (BE)

To gain a better understanding of Rubens Castle as a public site, The Resortians examined the new social relations and engagements in and around the castle. Reflecting upon their own role as ‘slow tourists’, they joined the domain’s ecosystem for six days. Questions arose regarding their relationship as temporary inhabitants of the domain, the heritage sites and the surrounding urban sprawl. Through conversations with neighbours, reflective discussion and different collective actions they created a performative guided tour. The little house at the fruit orchard will exhibit the traces of their research for the visitor to discover.

(Location of the artefacts: shed at the fruit orchard)

The water carriers

The team of the water workshop took on the role of water carriers: finding sustainable ways of handling water. Heavy rain showers were plentiful during Last Resort, leading to various water transportation objects and collection methods for rainwater.

Alongside this, the Water Carriers made us aware of the scarcity of water and built different protocols and devices that catered to the water needs of our 12-day stay at Rubens Castle.

Lucas Devolder, architect (BE) & Juul Prinsen, product- and social designer (NL)

(Location of the artefacts: The fruit orchard)

How to Fall Asleep, How to Wake Up?

Jan Stricker, designer & construction manager (CH), Alexander Römer, architect, designer & carpenter (DE) & Miranda Rigby, architect (GB

On the campsite of Rubens Castle one can find several structures that served the sleeping needs of the Resortians. Some still remain while others were temporarily installed over and under natural elements. Starting with an analysis of their own sleeping requirements at Last Resort , questions quickly arose related to security, privacy, and collective sleeping facilities alongside rain shelters that helped to keep their feet dry.

Due to the heavy rain, a sense of urgency spurred them to build a sauna, emphasising the healing side of a resort.

(Location of the artefacts: campsite)

Signaletique

Mathilde Gintz, graphic designer (FR) & Adeline Vierira, graphic designer (FR)

Throughout the domain, visitors can find several illustrated ‘postcards’ telling the story of Last Resort. Designing signage for a space you live in means having a look at the life that takes place there, reflecting on the relationship amongst The Resortians, the cultural heritage and the ecosystem of the environment. Sharing some of the ‘magical’ experiences that one would describe on a postcard to their loved ones, while at the same time, highlighting the themes on their position towards the castle domain: Resortism, inhabitation, caretaking, gathering and (in)visible relationship.

(Location of the artefacts: Postcard on the map)

Inhabitants

Last Resortism implies the choice of a sustainable way of living and of slowing down. Learning from the experience of long term camping in the domain feeds the constantly evolving structures. From the outer shell to the sleeping surface, from individual to collective, the settlements are continuously reimagined.

At Last Resort, objects, just like people, are nomadic. Some never sleep in the same place two nights in a row. One moment you can see a roof moving, while a few meters away an increasingly sophisticated kitchen finds its new site. Temporary sitting devices derived from existing structures are invented for each meal. In fact, many of the objects conceived by The Resortians stem from what is already present. They hang, plug-on or embrace what already exists to provide solutions to evolving needs. Small interventions aiming for maximum effect.

Gatherers

Last Resort is, besides a gathering of people, a situation in which needs are met preferably by gathering resources from within the domain. More than that, needs and habits are adapted to be satisfied by what materials can be sourced in the surrounding environment: in the forest, the fields, the grove, the ditch or by the perpetual rain.

The Resortians gather knowledge as they go. From each other as well as from the beings close to them. They discover, through the vegetation, the history of the domain, while also harvesting the plentiful resources the castle ground carries. With a mindful and resourceful approach, they engage and become, for a brief moment, part of the ecosystem.

Caretakers

The Resortians are particularly devoted to care, which sustains each and every human activity. It takes a considerable amount of negotiation, as well as acknowledging that the domain is shared with other beings. Caretaking is one way of defining relationships to humans and things that go beyond mere consumption.

The Resortians maintain life primarily with their bodies. Morning exercises are performed to ensure the bodies preserve their capacity to move or heal. Maintenance work evolves from straightforward tasks into the activity of serving others and creatively increasing every Resortian’s wellbeing.

Thank you for visiting

Through the artifacts of the Last Resort summer school, you have experienced a new narrative of the Rubens Castle domain. Curious to learn more about the results of Stories Unfold’s broader research including the Last Resort summer school? These will be published in the evaluation report after the festival

Constructlab thanks Tourism Flanders and EventFlanders as the clients of this project. Thanks are also extended to the 30 international participants for their contributions to the artistic experiment on the Rubens Castle grounds.

Participant:

Kseniia Novikova, Julien Clabecq, Yeliza Strakhova, Mathilde Dewavrin, Lennert Janssens, Eva Gutscoven, Vanessa Gerotto, Felice van Tieghem, Levin Buljubašić, Hanne Deswert, Ninon Esclangon, Vincent Rennie, Emile Marlein, Ilaria Fumagalli, Nina Blume, Judith Pottgueter, Jodocus Deblieck, Lena Beetz, Anton Vanneuville, Nicolas Keller, Jana Pakalniete, Pax Grüensch, Marthe Van Rompaey, Michiel Vindevogel, Laura Hartleb, Juan Jose Corona Lucio, Luise Sappel, Robin Vandenbusscbe, Marieke De Backer & Malou Legrand

Last Resort Caretakers:

Concept and organization: Bert Villa en Lyra Oey

Production on-site: Eline Harmse, Ella De Pourque, Emma Ribbens, Fabian Faylona, Álvaro Borrajo Alemany & Steven de Kort

Photographers: Charlotte Daniëlse & Lukas Neven

Graphic Design: Steven de Kort