Gijs Van Vaerenbergh Recreates Lost Belgian Abbey as Transparent Steel Cathedral

Belgian architecture studio Gijs Van Vaerenbergh has unveiled CLAUSURA, a monumental steel installation that traces the vanished 16th-century church of Herkenrode Abbey near Hasselt, Belgium. The project, marking the studio's 20th anniversary, consists of thousands of slender steel tubes outlining the Gothic structure at full scale, creating a transparent cathedral that interacts with the surrounding ruins and landscape. Architects Pieterjan Gijs and Arnout Van Vaerenbergh designed the work to evoke memory and absence rather than reconstructing the original stone abbey, which was destroyed by war, fire, and demolition. The installation transforms empty space into architecture, allowing viewers to experience a shifting silhouette that aligns into a recognizable Gothic form from certain angles. Alongside CLAUSURA, the studio is presenting a publication and exhibition titled Fictional Ruins, exploring how architecture preserves memory through incomplete forms.