Year: 2023
Publisher: BMA
Editor: Public Space
Scope: book design & print management
Printer: Artoos
Format: 150×210mm
Pages: 160
︎︎︎ bma.brussels
︎︎︎ When a book becomes an object
Publisher: BMA
Editor: Public Space
Scope: book design & print management
Printer: Artoos
Format: 150×210mm
Pages: 160
︎︎︎ bma.brussels
︎︎︎ When a book becomes an object
TEAM RESEARCH BY DESIGN
This new publication by the Bouwmeester Maître Architecte, the chief government architect of the city of Brussels, explains the concept of ‘research by design’: a method to provide arguments early on in the political decision-making process about what a city will look like and what level of quality is desired. This is done through the medium of drawing; not to be executed as such, but to feed the conversation about the spatial qualities and possibilities, and hopefully also to influence the final decisions made.
The bilingual publication is produced as a ‘tête-bêche’: Dutch on one side and French on the other side.
This new publication by the Bouwmeester Maître Architecte, the chief government architect of the city of Brussels, explains the concept of ‘research by design’: a method to provide arguments early on in the political decision-making process about what a city will look like and what level of quality is desired. This is done through the medium of drawing; not to be executed as such, but to feed the conversation about the spatial qualities and possibilities, and hopefully also to influence the final decisions made.
The bilingual publication is produced as a ‘tête-bêche’: Dutch on one side and French on the other side.
For the cover material we chose Napura Khepera, a thermo-reactive paper with lovely speckles and fibres. One layer of the typographic title treatment is blind embossed, which means it is impressed without the use of inks or foils. The darker blue colour is achieved because of the paper’s reaction to the heat from the embossing. The other layer of the typography is screenprinted in a light grey Pantone colour. The 2mm hardcover is cut flush, exposing the greyboard.
Grey is also used in the interior of the book to separate the content into parts: the front and end matter are set on white backgrounds, but the projects – located in the centre of each side – are set on a light grey background. This makes the project section stand out. The interior paper is a beautiful Munken Lynx Rough, a pleasure to touch.
This project is also featured in our case study ‘When a book becomes an object’.
