BRUSK , a new exhibition hall and meeting place has arisen on the Garenmarkt, right next to the Groeningemuseum, in the centre of Bruges. The opening is planned for May 2026. It is a prestigious project for the city. The Flemish government too contributed financial support.
Attracting 8 million tourists a year Bruges, boasting a rich history, is one of Belgium’s biggest tourist attractions. The creation of a new museum and art site, means the West Flemish capital is continuing to invest in its innovative, contemporary art policy. Bruges Mayor Dirk De fauw earlier spoke of an ‘incredibly important moment for our city’ and described the project as ‘a monument for the future’.
BRUSK, a new exhibition hall comprising two halls and opening onto a new park, is located on the Garenmarkt site next to the Groeningemuseum and forms part of the museum quarter. The site covers 20,000 m². The name BRUSK was chosen because it sounds short and powerful and because it is an acronym that offers many possibilities (including Brugge Schept Kunst (Bruges creates art), Brugge Serveert Kunst (Bruges serves up art), Brugge Stad van Kunsten (Bruges, City of Art)). In addition, BRUSK can also be used internationally and in many languages.
Design by Robbrecht and Daem architects and Olivier Salens architects
The chosen design is a collaboration between the developers CIT Red and the design team led by Robbrecht and Daem architects (who previously designed the Concert Hall in Bruges) and Olivier Salens architects.
The colour palette of the city of Bruges consists mainly of earthy colours, and this building will contrast with that because it is dark green in appearance. The roof will be covered with glass tiles containing photovoltaic cells, and solar energy will be used in the building's energy system.
‘New buildings are an expression of desire,’ Paul Robbrecht said at the time the design was unveiled. ‘We hope for a kind of unexpectedness, for a kind of rich, intense experience, also for people visiting such places. Nothing is as intense as the relationship between the viewer and the artwork. Revealing that is the essence of creating a kind of museum space.’
Robbrecht described the rooms as ‘covered squares’, ‘where the unexpectedness of art can take place’. ‘You don't just find the building, you encounter it when you wade through the interior, where it will manifest itself, first in fragments and then – from the park side – in its entirety.’
At the request of the city, the exhibition halls are very spacious, so that international travelling exhibitions of both classical and contemporary works can be held here. However, the halls are designed to be flexible enough to be efficiently divided into smaller spaces for exhibitions, performances or other events.
A meeting place
Architect Robbrecht explained earlier that the aim was to create a building with a very low threshold. ‘The entire building is designed to encourage interaction,’ he emphasised. A public corridor allows everyone to walk through freely and discover the spaces as they stroll. This creates ‘very open and free opportunities and encounters between art and the public’.
‘The exhibition rooms are up one level and separated from each other by a public passageway, creating a very open, transparent and freely accessible ground floor. The entire ground floor is thus returned to the city, its residents and visitors,’ noted Mayor Dirk De fauw.
Lisa De Visscher, former editor-in-chief of A+ Architecture in Belgium, speaking at the time the plans were unveiled, said BRUSK is a very interesting project. ‘For some time, people have been looking for ways to give the public, and not just museum visitors, a place in the city. There is a great need for such 'public living rooms'. I think we are definitely seeing the influence of the pandemic in thinking here, with more attention being paid to the quality of that public space.’