3D printed ceramics tell brussels local stories in pavilion by elise eeraerts & aparicio ronda

elise eeraerts & roberto aparicio ronda craft pavilion in brussels

Elise Eeraerts & Roberto Aparicio Ronda install Folly (Vase), a small pavilion, in the Germinal public gardens of Evere, Brussels. The permanent installation is made not of bricks or timber, but of vases, and is the first in a series of five public follies. This structure turns storytelling into a tangible object, shaped through a collaborative design process and built entirely from ceramic vessels, 3D printed and stacked into architectural form.

The surface of each vase tells a fragment of a larger narrative. Patterns and textures wrap around the ceramics like visual memory maps, derived from spontaneous conversations with the local residents of Germinal. These graphic elements hold the imprint of the neighborhood’s stories, moods, and rhythms. In this way, Folly (Vase) functions as both sculpture and archive, where ornament becomes language and craft becomes communication.

Folly (Vase) fuses 3D printed ceramics and community stories

Rather than imposing a single design logic, Belgian artist Elise Eeraerts and Spanish architect Roberto Aparicio Ronda embrace informality and openness in this pavilion. Its form is playful and permeable, inviting people to walk through, rest, or simply observe how nature plays off its soft curves and earthy textures. The vases are used as containers for planting, anchoring the folly within the garden.

Folly (Vase) is the first of five planned pavilions as part of Follies, a permanent intervention initiated under the framework of 101e%, by BGHM (Brussels Housing Authority). The project reimagines the role of architectural follies within public space — not as whimsical decoration, but as participatory, materially experimental, and site-specific elements. As new follies are added to the park, each one will take on a different character while remaining rooted in community engagement and ecological integration

project info:

name: Folly (Vase)
designer: Elise Eeraerts & Roberto Aparicio Ronda

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