Archiprix International 2001
Fontys University of Applied Science, Academy of Architecture and Urbanism - Tilburg, Netherlands
Johan van de Ven
Tutors: Pnina Avidar, Martien Jansen, Ton Venhoeven
The 'kuBurcht' is a medieval castle transported into the modern age, with the film director Stanley Kubrick (died March 1999) playing the part of castellan. This inward-looking building is a machine à éprouver where devotees can experience the great director as if he were playing a role in one of his films. You the visitor wander along a labyrinthine route. You experience a cinematic perception of suspense, escalating patterns of expectation, and a constantly postponed release... The way Stanley used to make them. Your curiosity is whetted but you are not shown the secret. You have your suspicions but there is no confirmation until all at once the explosive denouement bursts upon you, just when you had stopped expecting it. Just as in ‘The Shining’ you become the building's plaything; this is the kuBurcht experience.