In 2017 Brussels Environment asked the young architecture firm Piovenefabi to design five summer bars for different parks across Brussels: Maurice (Cinquantenaire), Gisèle (La Cambre), Émile (Duden), Fabiola (Roi Baudouin) and Henri (Georges Henri). The bars proved to be so successful that two more were added in the summer of 2019: Jeanne (Rouge-Cloître) and André (Laeken). Colloquially known as ‘guinguettes’, named after the eighteenth-century ephemeral drinking and dancing venues around Paris, this series of equally uncomplicated pavilions quickly grew into a familiar sight in the Brussels public space during summer.
The design of the pavilions is surprisingly simple. It relies on basic architectural operations. A rectangular frame of slender metal poles demarcates the perimeter of the pavilion. This open structure is equipped with a textile, cream-coloured roof cover, suspended from parallel cables that allow the fabric to undulate elegantly. Depending on the weather, the roof can easily be opened or closed. Round lamps attached to the poles make sure that the bars are well lit at night time. Positioned against this metal structure, an actual bar kiosk harbours all the functional equipment. Thanks to its modular design, the box-like kiosk can easily be constructed and dismantled annually. Much like a stall, the top panels open up when in use, while at the same time the bottom panels move outward and constitute the counter.
This search for playful simplicity has become a characteristic trait in the budding oeuvre of Piovenefabi (a combination of the last names of founders Ambra Fabi and Giovanni Piovene). The Milan- and Brussels-based office is currently working on the extension for the hotel Le Palace along Boulevard du Jardin Botanique, but they have previously left their mark on the Belgian capital by means of small and refined temporary projects, accommodating various activities. In 2018 a colourful circus-like tent stood in front of the Bozar building during the Fernand Léger exhibition, and for the 2016 edition of Parckdesign (a five-month design biennale with a focus on the Brussels public space), they constructed their first park pavilion in Duden Park.
This Parckdesign pavilion laid the groundwork for the seven guinguettes. Designed as a conglomerate of three functional structures grouped by a textile-roofed perimeter, it would eventually see its functionality reduced to the single bar-kiosks. The result, however, is similar: an urban ‘room’ effectively accommodates leisurely gatherings by doing no more than covering and delineating a public area and giving it direction by the presence of the bar. The high distillery structure of the original, which served as a landmark, is reduced to a single lamp post, signalling the bar to passers-by.
An important difference with regard to the 2016 Parckdesign pavilion is the multiplicity of the assignment. To deal with this specific condition, Piovenefabi created a variety of pavilions through a limited set of design alterations, allowing each version to respond to the specific context and requirements of the different parks. This entailed changes of orientation, dimension, inclination and colour. Although the kiosks themselves are identical reproductions, their interiors match the various colours of the metalwork. With this morphological similarity, Piovenefabi made highly recognizable pavilions with little material, while at the same time refraining from turning them into symbols.
