Together Apart gives us new understandings of the role of architecture as a place to live, work and interact with, and as a podium for the arts and attempts to trigger emotions through its innovative architectural photography, its original lay-out and its rich and lyrical language. Text in Spanish. Ferran Adrià i Acosta is one the world’s greatest exponents of avant-garde cuisine of our time and the creative genius and engine of the historical restaurant El Bulli which closed its doors in 2012. He describes his cooking as as decontructivist. In 2004, the American magazine Time included him on the list of the 100 most innovative people in the world. He has published several books and gives lectures around the world. On 17 December 2007 the University of Barcelona awarded him an honorary doctorate. He will continue his work in an even more experimental way at the creative centre El Bulli Foundation that opens its doors in 2014. For nearly twenty years now Hedwig Van Impe has shown consistent ways to support and collaborate with artists, curators and architects. At the end of the nineties he commissioned a building to his friend, the remarkable Italian designer and architect Ettore Sottsass. As a self-proclaimed anarchitect he is the author of La Dividida, his latest accomplishment. The building is the result of a cross-fertilisation between himself and Ferran Adria. He developed inspiring and fresh ways of seeing and contextualising contemporary art through his performative sculptures, Statuements, a fusion of the words ‘statue’ and ‘statement’, which he has created for many years now. The contemporary aspects in Flemish and Spanish Renaissance art impassion him. In the creative spot, La Dividida, he goes on to formulate new proposals in which different artistic and art related disciplines are mixed, manipulated, reinterpreted etc… in order to imbue them with new meaning.

During her studies, Julie Van den Kerchove completely changed her eating habits and has only used natural ingredients since. In doing so, she managed to put a stop to her health problems. In her second book, she again cooks delicious meals that don’t contain any gluten, dairy or meat. In addition, she only uses natural sugars. She does that in the most practical way possible, which makes this book a great fit for those who want to cook healthy in less than 30 minutes. See Julie in action on her own YouTube-channel, which includes many how-to videos in English: www.youtube.com/user/julieslifestyle also available: Vegan & Raw: Energizing Recipes ISBN 9789401434720

“‘The marvellous is always beautiful,’ reads a sign on the wall of the Scottish National Museum of Modern Art. This stirring slogan, by Andre Breton, from his Manifesto of Surrealism, sets the tone for this fascinating, mind expanding exhibition.” – BBC Arts “Outstanding… The finest spread of surrealist art – paintings and objects – to be seen in Britain since the momentous Surreal Things: Surrealism and Design show at the V&A in 2007.” – Sunday Times This book brings together over 160 of the finest surrealist artworks by legendary artists including Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, René Magritte, Joan Miró and Man Ray. The works hail from the four renowned and extraordinary private collections of Edward James, Roland Penrose, Gabrielle Keiller and Ulla and Heiner Pietzsch, and together offer a superb overview of surrealist art. Ten essays explore the different origins, historical contexts and creative urges behind these collections. Artworks, perhaps more than anything else that one can acquire, are objects of desire and surrealist artworks even more so. The sheer quality of the works acquired (and, in the case of the Pietzsches, still being acquired) is astonishing and, while passionate about their private visions, all the collectors have been mindful of contributing something to the public good. The collections complement each other to an extraordinary degree and allow us to follow some of the artists’ careers from beginning to end. By uniting them, exciting new juxtapositions emerge along with a fuller and richer picture of the surrealist movement as a whole.

Imagine a site fifteen minutes from the heart of downtown Vancouver, able to capture in one view: snow-covered mountains and an archipelago, a lighthouse and the downtown skyline, the vegetation of a moderate rainforest and ocean waters. Imagine the same view transgressing national borders to include an active volcano. This is the site where the story of House Shumiatcher unfolds. As the son of Morris Shumiatcher, founder of Smithbilt Hats in Calgary, Judah spent his summers in high school and college learning the art of the hatter. Like so many other North American cities during this period, Calgary was experiencing a postwar housing boom. Judah developed an interest in the delivery of inexpensive, well-designed houses and began to consider an alternate career as a building contractor. After all, work in that sector was abundant and the lifestyle appealing. A scheduled stop in New York City altered the course of his career. There, by chance, he encountered Frank Lloyd Wright, first in an interview on television, and then, having gotten up the courage to request a private meeting, briefly in person in a temporary building on the site of the new Guggenheim Museum. Judah brought the knowledge and ambition he brought from his meeting with Wright to continue a storied career in architecture in his home country of Canada. After 38 years in a house he built specifically for his family, they had to struggle with the difficult decision to sell the property as Vancouver rates were increasing by 200%, even though they knew a developer would tear it down. This book then serves as the lasting testament to a brilliant home designed by one of Canada’s best unsung architects.

In Western culture, from an early age we are ingrained with the notion that weight in building construction equals strength as evinced even in children’s stories such as the ‘The Three Little Pigs’. This idea of the relative strength of mass pervades our culture as a fundamental truth, but heavy materials are not intrinsically stronger than lighter ones. While time will be needed to remove the biases that we carry in our cultural DNA, our perception of strength has begun to shift. If we look at the historical evolution of architecture – from the massive pyramids of Egypt to the framed structures of Greek and Roman construction, to the lighter Gothic vaulting and eventually modern architecture of the twentieth century – we see a continuous, almost linear progression from solid mass construction to diaphanous skins of glass and steel. This is our historic journey from mass to membrane.

Pratt Sessions presents a series of conversations between notable practitioners and thinkers. It is a distributed symposium that is curated and yet open-ended. Based on an ongoing lecture series at Pratt Institute’s Graduate Architecture and Urban Design programme, each session brings together two participants as a means of instigating discourse and dissolving and/or reinforcing the artifice of geographically-based discourse networks. Participants are carefully paired together based on the content of their work and the region in which they reside and/or practice. Participants frame their work around a disciplinary provocation in short, non-standard lecture presentations, and engage in an in-depth dialogue. Pratt Sessions is intended as a book series, each volume featuring six conversations, which originally took place over the course of two academic semesters. The six sessions are divided in two areas of focus, exploring and examining how new mediums and new contexts can be defined, redefined, and understood within the realm of architectural design.

“The book is absolutely wonderful. I have re-read your poetry several times and it is very thought-provoking. You have managed to capture some very complex ideas in a beautiful economy of words and I love the clear, ‘pared-down quality of your work. It works so well in dialogue with the sculpture, which I think is stunning. It is incredibly ‘human’ but at the same time conveys things that are timeless. Really beautiful, they are the kind of images which stay in your mind long after you’ve seen them. What a talented artist (and poet)!!” – Dr. Claire Nicholson. English Literature, University of Cambridge Katrin Dekoninck is an all-round artist, showing mankind in raw honesty and lonely separation. Though the focus of this book is on her life-sized sculptures in clay, she is also skilled in drawing, painting and traditional (non-computer generated) animation. Her technical strength makes her images breathe. Serenely and with simplicity, she shapes her universe of searching people. Themes such as ‘identity’ and ‘aging’ link her oeuvre to the poetry of Steven Van Der Heyden. With words, he tries to find a way to make connections, to start a dialogue. His poems were written in interaction with Katrin’s sculptures. Together they make an organic unity of words and images. A fascinating encounter artfully captured through the lens of photographer Stef De Belder. Text in English and Dutch.

Thanks to cocooning and a hype around DIY, crafts and upcycling, our homes are increasingly becoming warm nests and a playground for creative minds who seek to inspire us through the use of colour and innovative designs that make a statement not only about who we are but the internal space we occupy, the space we call home. Plants and flowers have become favourite tools in interior design. Whether you like Scandinavian design or a classical romantic style, there are flowers and combinations to suit every interior. Interior Emotions contains a wealth of stylish floral art for the home, using different environments and styles, ranging from subdued to colourful, playful, small scale to wallscapes. This collection offers inspiration not only to the professional florist but to amateurs, who will be able to pick up ideas and get creative in their own homes. Featuring the work of three unique and internationally respected designers, this volume focuses on creating individual style with ideas are inspiring and original, bringing an additional natural element and splash of colour and style to any internal space lifting it from being a room, to an environment that lives and breathes.

From May 1st until August 2012, Brugge Plus vzw and Musea Brugge have organised ‘Kamarama’, an international art project in the city of Bruges. The curator of the exhibition is Belgian artist Kamagurka.
This multidisciplinary art project will spread throughout the entire city centre and will show both works of Kamagurka and other artists he feels related to. It’ll be a true journey jam-packed with exceptional art, intriguing movies, music, comedy, cartoons and, without a doubt, a large dose of humour. The main part of the project is an exhibition of paintings, sculptures and drawings in the Garemynzaal, one of the historical halls of the Bruges belfry, of contemporary artists that have been inspirational to Kamagurka: David Bade, Fred Bervoets, George Condo, René Daniëls, J.J. Grandville, George Grosz, Jeroen Henneman, Capitaine Lonchamps, Lucebert, Yves Obyn, Emile Salkin, Captain Beefheart, Wim T. Schippers, Herr Seele, Roland Topor among others. Artists featured include: David Bade, Fred Bervoets, Capitaine Lonchamps, George Condo, Rene Daniels, Wim Delvoye, Otto Dix, Marcel Duchamp, James Ensor, Max Ernst, Jan Fabre, J.J. Grandville, George Grosz, Kati Heck, Jeroen Henneman, Herr Seele, Paul Joostens, Kamagurka, Lucebert, Markus Lupertz, Rene Magritte, Werner Mannaers, Muzo, Yves Obyn, Jeff Olsson, Francis Picabia, Pablo Picasso, Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes, Emile Salkin, Wim T. Schippers, Roland Topor, Stephen Tunney, Luc Tuymans, Rinus Van De Velde, Don Van Vliet. Also available: The Holy Kama ISBN: 9789058563996

Hilde Van de Walle (b.1957) is a multi-disciplinary artist. In a period of 30 years she created a vast and highly appreciated oeuvre consisting of graphic art, paintings, ceramics and monumental bronzes. She often explores the mystery behind the human façade. As an artist she wants to achieve maximum expression with a minimal number of visual clues. Her images are actions frozen in time. It is the task of the spectator to fill in the preceding action or imagine the continuation of the movement. Her imagery is wilful; the artist dislocates normal anatomy and forces it into a new shape. Parts of the body are deliberately eliminated to come to the purest expression. The subdued charisma of the figures stimulates a dialogue with the environment and the spectator. The residual space between the images is no blank space, but acts as a sound box that amplifies the expression. Capturing the intangible in an image remains Hilde’s passionate ambition. Text in English and Dutch.

For 35 years floral design company Oogenlust has been creating stunning floral compositions and interior designs inspired by the natural world. The entire spectrum of emotions is visited in beautiful creations that excite the senses and make those special moments in life simply unforgettable. Oogenlust is driven by a passion for nature and the changing seasons. Its strength lies in the meticulous use of all the materials that nature offers. But it is the sheer love for the craft of flower arranging so evident in every Oogenlust design that makes them so distinctive, original and captivating. Text in English and Dutch.

How much longer do you want to put it off? How long can you manage your organisation, your team or your life without making some fundamental change? Above all, how long can you avoid being overtaken by others because you stick to your method and your comfort zone? Our society is changing and crying out for a new model. We are living in a digital age where everyone and everything is connected, where competition no longer comes from the sector, and customers, users and citizens are in the driver’s seat. Data are gold and sharing is the new having. The digital age requires a new approach and a new model. This book beckons you to dare – dare to help build a different business world, with a balance between short and long term results, but just as much to help build a different society through personal choices, a society that is ready for the next generation.

The dahlia, a flower that was once thought of as old-fashioned, has surged in popularity over the past few years due to the development of new varieties and an uptick in appreciation from Royals and celebrities. They appear in a broad spectrum of beautiful colours and eccentric shapes, and thanks to their long flowering time they are garden crop favourites. This inspirational book explores every aspect of the dahlia from its history to its sustainable cultivation.

Freedom, simplicity and togetherness: that’s what life is all about according to happy campers Els Sirejacob and Bram Debaenst. Those values are the reason why they love the camper van life so much; they’re also qualities you’ll recognise in Els and Bram’s work as a food stylist and food photographer.

Camper Food & Stories is the result of Els and Bram’s shared passion for camper van travelling and slow cooking. It’s an ode to life on the road as well as to good, pure and flavourful food.

With this book you’ll travel from the Black Forest to Denmark and from Cornwall to the Balkans. You’ll discover the most beautiful unspoilt places in Belgium and the Netherlands, and you’ll be inspired by the wonderful, dreamy travel photos and personal stories.

This book is of course also about food. The recipes in it honour the local cuisine and products of each destination. The featured dishes are uncomplicated yet bursting with flavour, and made from fresh, local ingredients – like fire-baked veggies with yoghurt and mint, heart-warming slow-cooked stews, barbecued shellfish or easy and healthy breakfasts. Of course, these camper recipes are perfect for cooking at home too, with the added bonus of feeling like you’re on vacation.

The genesis, development and life-long occupation of the McIntyre house, built in 1972 as part of a multiple-dwelling subdivision, provides possible answers to some very pressing contemporary design questions. How might one live near the city and be respectful of nature? How might efficiently built dwellings also be spacious and dense site occupation still allow for privacy? This history is recounted through text augmented by photographs and site diagrams, house sections and plans. They reveal a modern architecture on the west coast that resulted from an interplay of both the physicality of the land and a culturally imbued landscape.

In this new book, the publisher presents the top gardens of eleven master gardeners from the Netherlands. The members of the Association of Master Gardeners (Vereniging van Tophoveniers) have voluntarily submitted themselves to high quality demands and want to bring their profession to the highest possible level. Tophoveniers guarantee top quality for the complete package, not only as garden contractor, but also as designer, advisor, and person to talk to. Among the participants are Harry Esselinck, Groenpartners Tuinen, Hoveniersbedrijf Louis van der Meijden and Rien Van Mierio. In this beautiful publication the focus is on the architecture of the gardens. Because of the unique photographic material the book has become very attractive and insightful for every garden lover. In order to give the reader a complete image of the work of their participants, the author shows gardens of different sizes and from different parts of the Netherlands. Text in English and Dutch.

Geert Pattyn, one of the most renowned floral designers in Belgium, has a very natural and personal style. In this brand-new monograph, Pattyn is introduced in his natural surroundings. His own home and garden are his source of inspiration and provide a canvas for decorating. Surprising, alluring and amazing, Bart Van Leuven’s photography beautifully captures Pattyn’s stunning creations.

Renaissance Children puts child portrait painting from the 15th and 16th century in the spotlight and tells the historical, pedagogical and artistic story of the most remarkable paintings.

In the 15th and 16th century, the House of Habsburg ruled over a large part of Europe, and would turn into one of the most important European royal families in world history. In that time, Mechelen was the centre of education, where many Habsburg princes and princesses spent a large part of their youth, among whom Margaret of Austria and Charles V. Other powerful families also sent their children to Mechelen – the most famous of whom is perhaps Anne Boleyn, who would later become queen of England. Renaissance Children goes back to that Belgian city, where many portrait paintings of children originated. The book specifically focusses on child portraits of top artists, such as Jan Gossart, Bernard van Orley and Juan de Flandes. Includes unique paintings by Flemish Masters, such as Jan Gossart, Bernard van Orley and Juan de Flandes Insight into educational values and techniques from the 15th and 16th century The first publication about art and education at one the most important royal houses in European history

This direct, interactive approach to art – and to the world – promotes self-exploration, self-discovery, and self-expression. As it introduces basic artistic concepts, styles, and techniques, it also provides loads of fun. For children who want to know more about the artists whose works appear in the book, biographies are provided at the end, along with suggestions for further reading and an international list of museums where each artists works can be seen. As they begin to understand the multitude of ways that artists see, children will deepen their appreciation of art, the world around them, and, most importantly, their own unique visions.

“Belgicum is brilliant. It’s an epitaph for a country that disappeared before Vanfleteren’s eyes, like a sand castle in the breaking waves.” – Eric Min in De Morgen

Belgicum is a photo project about Belgium. It is not an objective representation of a country but rather a subjective photographical document in black and white. It’s a journey of exploration into a small country in the heart of Europe, at the turn of the centuries.

More than fifteen years Vanfleteren has wandered through and hunted in the ‘Belgicum’ territories, guided by emotion and by the love for his homeland. He made a journey through a scarred land, in search of the irretrievable identity of a country with the melancholic soul of an old nation.

Over the past ten years, over 11,000 copies were sold of this international bestseller. Belgicum grew out to be a reference work in the Belgian history of photography. On the occasion of the tenth birthday of this cult book, it was reprinted.

With text by David Van Reybrouck.

Text in English, French and Dutch.