image by Jonathan De MaeyerSomewhere here somewhere there
Ciel Grommen and Maximiliaan Royakkers are architects by training and through family ties, connected to the world of agriculture. When Ciel’s brother-in-law asks for help renovating housing for foreign seasonal workers, they take on the task with open-hearted curiosity. Through conversations with developers, policymakers, social workers, and farmers, they map a landscape shaped by deep economic forces. But when they try to understand what it means to live in these accommodations, the silence of the workers reveals a blind spot — and the need to ask different questions.
In this project — a hybrid between documentary and dialogue — Ciel and Maximiliaan use models, film, and scenographic elements to recount their fieldwork journey, from Haspengouw to Brussels, to Romanian villages and back again.
What initially seemed like a simple design question gradually unfolds into fundamental inquiries about living and working, the livability of our culture, and what it means to be home in a farmyard.
Stage, video & scenography: Ciel Grommen & Maximiliaan Royakkers
Architectural research assistance: Tim Martens, Tom Van Laer
Feedback & dramaturgy: Simon Allemeersch, Camille Louis, Nancy Vansielegem, Griet Roets
Production: Jubilee
Co-production: Decoratelier, C-takt
in collaboration with: LUCA school of arts
with the financial support of: the Flemish Government