Sanitarium Charleroi
Sanitarium Charleroi
Mixed media
15.00 x 4.50 x 7.00 m
Capital social – Hotel Charleroi
Charleroi, BE
2013
In 2008, readers of the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant voted Charleroi the ugliest city in the world. The city is dominated by its negative image, as one pays tribute to the contemporary craze for rankings. This means that Charleroi, as a candidate for Unsere Stadt soll schöner werden!, has to be improved. Be prepared for the sellout of public space and the advent of investor architecture.
The thought of its conversion emphasizes the positive impetus underlying the process. Here, we can already experience a part of the possible future. Charleroi will become a spa. Who would have thought it? Sanitarium Charleroi appears without notice but seems like it has always been there. Later, everything else grouped itself around the remains of a larger structure. A flat roof with an exquisite lawn pops up amidst the desolation of a “no-go” area. This green terrace promises healing and recovery. Make yourself comfortable on a lawn chair and enjoy the scenery! But the promise won’t be fulfilled. The terrace can only be surveyed in its entirety by train and, all too quickly, the scene passes by. A drive by viewing only lets one briefly surmise the comfortable situation that one otherwise expects.
Sanitarium Charleroi
Sanitarium Charleroi
Mixed media
15.00 x 4.50 x 7.00 m
Capital social – Hotel Charleroi
Charleroi, BE
2013
In 2008, readers of the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant voted Charleroi the ugliest city in the world. The city is dominated by its negative image, as one pays tribute to the contemporary craze for rankings. This means that Charleroi, as a candidate for Unsere Stadt soll schöner werden!, has to be improved. Be prepared for the sellout of public space and the advent of investor architecture.
The thought of its conversion emphasizes the positive impetus underlying the process. Here, we can already experience a part of the possible future. Charleroi will become a spa. Who would have thought it? Sanitarium Charleroi appears without notice but seems like it has always been there. Later, everything else grouped itself around the remains of a larger structure. A flat roof with an exquisite lawn pops up amidst the desolation of a “no-go” area. This green terrace promises healing and recovery. Make yourself comfortable on a lawn chair and enjoy the scenery! But the promise won’t be fulfilled. The terrace can only be surveyed in its entirety by train and, all too quickly, the scene passes by. A drive by viewing only lets one briefly surmise the comfortable situation that one otherwise expects.