Title

Author(s)

Bart Hollanders, Filippo Cattapan

Affiliation

Eagles of Architecture, University of Antwerp

bP•A•N and EPFL

DOI

https://doi.org/10.65686/XWQM3873

Keywords

Inside–Outside, References, Difficult Whole

PP

472-478

How to Cite

Hollanders, Bart, Filippo Cattapan. “(In) (Out) Si(d)(t)e Reconsidering the Boundaries Between Old and New.” In Proceedings of the International Conference on Adaptive Reuse. Volume 1, edited by Andrea Crudeli, Francesca Molle, and Emanuele Carrai, 472–478. Firenze: STH Press, 2026.

Abstract

This paper moves from Robert Venturi’s analysis of three Renaissance churches in Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture (1966) and applies it as an operative reference for contemporary adaptive reuse. Within his discussion of inside-outside relationships, Venturi presents Santa Maria delle Grazie al Calcinaio (Cortona, 1485-1525), Santa Maria di Canepanova (Pavia, 1500-1557), and the Sanctuary of Saronno (1498-1666) as different variations on a fundamental architectural problem: how the façade mediates the separation and continuity of interior and exterior. These buildings have been carefully studied and redrawn by Eagles of Architecture through Friday I’m In Love, a self-initiated research practice that extracts operative knowledge from historical precedents. Three strategies emerge: perfect correspondence between inside and outside (Cortona), clear separation through contrasting layers (Pavia), and autonomous orientation allowing programmatic differentiation (Saronno). The paper demonstrates how these paradigms inform three contemporary projects of the authors: the Mortsel City Hall, where a preserved brick façade generates new interior organization through geometric correspondence; the row house in Dendermonde, where an original 1930s frontage conceals radical spatial reconfiguration; and the proposal for the Grimbergen church library, where a new addition establishes a neutral urban interface for a contemporary and multi-ethnic neighborhood. Each project treats the façade as an active device managing contradictory requirements: institutional representation and heritage renewal, urban continuity and individual freedom, devotional space and public inclusion. These multiple approaches suggest a common shift from what Alois Riegl identified as the tension between age-value and historical preservation, toward what Marvin Trachtenberg describes as building-in-time: an acceptance of transformation as constitutive of architectural identity, proposing design coherence over archaeological stratification.

Edited by
Andrea Crudeli
Francesca Molle
Emanuele Carrai

Publisher
STH Press, Firenze

ISBN Paperback – 9791281661141
ISBN Ebook – 9791281661158
DOI – https://doi.org/10.65686/SISY7263

Year
2026

Proceedings of
International Conference on Adaptive Reuse
hosted by The University of Pisa, Italy
15-19 September 2025, at the Gispoteca di Arte Antica dell’Università di Pisa.