13 Ji Zhang Wenjun Deng Unlike many Chinatowns formed as segregated ethnic enclaves, the Chinese Quarter in Antwerp emerged spontaneously along Van Wesenbekestraat in the 1970s. small businesses were strategically set up to serve primarily a Chinese clientele, especially restaurant owners shopping at the covered market La Criée. Over time, the community negotiated its presence in Antwerp’s public realm: four lion statues were installed before Central Station in 2001, followed by a “Paifang” gate in 2006, materializing symbolic recognition. This trajectory illustrates the dynamic being-longing brought by this IDW session. As architects, we are particularly interested in its material representation on the façades of the street, the “visage” of its architecture. As historian Antoine Picon notes: “Architecture is what happens when buildings begin to acquire a face; ornament is the mask or make-up that participates in the emergence of this visage.” Van Wesenbekestraat predates the Chinese Quarter. Part of the Central Station development, it combined residential and commercial functions in a decorative urban style. The arrival of Chinese immigrants (restaurateurs, grocers, entrepreneurs) layered new forms of decoration: signboards, awnings, colors, stickers on shop windows, etc. The workshop’s first half will document these layers, chronological, cultural, graphic; and question what the “masks” reveal. So far, they reflect more a confrontation than a real dynamic exchange between the Chinese community and the city of Antwerp. While the street has asserted itself as a cultural symbol, what kind of shared future can arise here? What role could decoration play in re-imagining this common ground? The second half will explore the possibility of decorations that could contribute to integration and connection.
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