by Tim Verlaan

Just as so many other modernist housing estates, the Rabot towers in Ghent are currently being knocked down. Their fate seems to have been influenced by a complicated mix of construction faults, poor maintenance and a rising popularity of their surroundings. Simon Allemeersch, a local artist and theatre maker, decided to move in just as the first residents were moving out. Together with those who stayed he discussed the built fabric and social conditions in which they lived, thus setting up a lively exchange between them and the indifferent outside world.

Allemeersch stayed for two years, building up strong relationships with residents, who were tired of artists coming and going just to exploit their living conditions. The late-night discussions and social gatherings in the artist’s flat led up to a documentary film, which can be seen as a living memorial to those who lived their lives in the now hibernating Rabot towers. In it, Allemeersch and the residents embark on a quest to answer the blunt question as to why the towers turned from a success story into a failure so rapidly. His curiosity seems to neatly fit into Failed Architecture’smission statement.

This Friday, the documentary is screened at Flemish art centre ‘De Brakke Grond’ in Amsterdam, after which Failed Architecture hosts a Q&A with Allemeersch (in Dutch). In the run-up we asked the artist about his motives.

With Failed Architecture, we always start our articles and workshops with the basic questions as to why and according to whom a building has failed, and if so, what caused this and what are its effects. Why, according to you, do the Rabot towers have to go?
With this work we wanted to explain the cluster of reasons as to why these buildings have to go. The realities that lead up the imminent flatting of housing estates are complex and difficult to explain. More often than not, there is a lack of political will to preserve these living environments of the socially weak, and although it is never said publicly I really think there is a strategic use of gentrification tendencies, especially when these estates are located in upcoming neighbourhoods. In the case of the Rabot towers, there was a lot of gossip about what was going on inside. What struck me was that the actual residents were so poorly informed about the shape the towers were in....Continue Reading

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