Description

The Mons Memorial Museum on the wide boulevard that encircles the town centre is dedicated to the memory of two world wars and the traces of suffering and destruction they left on the town and its surroundings. An old pumping station from 1871 with an elegant hall with glazed gable ends already stood on the site, leaving only limited space for a new building. A new block containing the permanent exhibition extends off the north-east side of the hall following the bend in the road. On the other side, a smaller section closes the gap to the neighbouring buildings and houses the delivery bay, storage areas and space for temporary exhibitions as well as offices and restoration workshops below ground. This section is illuminated only by a band of clerestory windows in the roof.

The two white buildings are simple, closed forms that contrast intentionally with their surroundings to denote the special significance of the museum and its contents for the town. The exhibitions are not, however, the ‘white cube’ experiences that the buildings might suggest but something completely different: in the mostly dark rooms, many different situations from darker periods of history are depicted right down to the last detail. There are only a few windows, some hidden from view, from which a coloured glow emanates. The windows face onto an open space on the lower ground floor whose walls, floor and ceiling are faced with red bricks. This space is intended to symbolize death.

Another window looks out onto an old war memorial at the crossroads. The former pumping station serves as the entrance hall with cash desk and a small public area for books. A staircase leads down to the lower ground floor with two seminar rooms and a café. The walls of the pumping station have been left exposed and the extent of the gutting can be seen from the remains of anchors for technical equipment. To the southeast is a pool of water along which visitors can walk.

The larger white block of the museum cantilevers out a considerable distance and is intended to symbolise the fragility of peace. The whitewashed brick masonry is intentionally irregular, which proved challenging for the bricklayers. At the rear, a huge water spout projects from the roof while on the other side a slightly curved bench is embedded in the wall looking onto the street. A similar bench can also be found in the café. These benches, as well as many of the other fittings, were designed by Hebbelinck.

The route through the museum leads visitors to the end wall of the cantilevered section of the building before returning to the hall, crossing it via a narrow, raised walkway that leads on into the temporary exhibition area. The permanent exhibition is organised as a journey through history passing through a succession of dark spaces with carefully staged scenes, interspersed with numerous illuminated display cases and short film sequences. Objects and personal belongings of soldiers and civilians provide an impression of life in wartime and during occupation. The museum succeeds in creating a concentrated, introverted environment in which to appreciate and remember the tragic circumstances of times past, and at the same time also provides a path back into the world of the present that is bright and friendly.

Originally published in Bauwelt 33.2015, pp. 38-41, abridged and edited for Building Types online, translated by Julian Reisenberger

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