A practice in situ

Systeem d develops projects from concrete places and situations.

A shop, window, façade, building, object, material or existing use can be the starting point. What is already there is not cleared away or neutralised; it becomes part of the work.

A project is therefore never fully designed in advance. Architecture, use, audience, time, technical conditions and regulations continue to shape it as it develops.

Wolstraat, Antwerp

The space on Wolstraat is both a workspace and a presentation space.

Projects are developed, tested and shown here. Some begin entirely within Systeem d. Others begin as collaborations or commissions and may eventually be realised elsewhere.

The shop window opens the practice to the street, but the space is not a conventional gallery. Presentation is part of the working process: a way to test something, make it public for a time and see what happens next.

Art, signage and permits

Systeem d works across fields that are usually kept apart.

Artistic practice, techniques from signage and retail presentation, and knowledge of permits and regulations come together when a project calls for it.

An advertising technique can become material. A rule can change the form of a work. An existing façade can be more decisive than the original idea.

These are not separate services within Systeem d. They are different parts of the same practice.

art | signage | permits

Independant projects, commissions and collaborations

Systeem d develops independent projects and works with artists, designers, brands, retailers, manufacturers, architects and organisations.

In a commission, the outcome is not decided in advance. The question is the starting point for finding out what is possible in a particular place and situation.

Collaborations may begin at the start of a project or emerge along the way.

Process and archive

A project is more than its final result.

Sketches, tests, prototypes, material samples, technical drawings, permit documents, rejected solutions and records are part of the work too.

They are kept in the Systeem d working archive. The archive records not only what was made, but how it came about.

→ For separate permit consultancy: Loket 285