“Reading between the Lines” See-through Church — Attraction in Borgloon

'Reading between the lines’ is a project by the duo Gijs Van Vaerenbergh, a collaboration between young Belgian architects Pieterjan Gijs (Leuven, 1983) and Arnout Van Vaerenbergh (Leuven, 1983).

It is based on the design of the local church. This ‘church’ consists of 30 tons of steel and 2000 columns, and is built on a fundament of armed concrete. Through the use of horizontal plates, the concept of the traditional church is transformed into a transparent object of art.

Depending on the perspective of the viewer, the church is either perceived as a massive building, or dissolves — partly or completely — into the landscape. Those viewers that look from the inside of the church to the outside, on the other hand, witness an abstract play of lines that reshapes the surrounding landscape. In this way, church and landscape can both be considered part of the work — hence also its title, which implies that to read between the lines, one must also read the lines themselves. In other words: the church makes the subjective experience of the landscape visible,...

The church structure is quite small, but I loved the artistic expression. It is located in the middle of vineyards & open pasture, which adds to it's beauty, and you can see the little town with its church tower in the background. A lovely setting! Several people there were just sitting around it on the grass. I did not go inside because I am in a wheelchair. Speaking of that, the pathway from the road, which is very short distance to the structure, is small gravel, so possible to go in a wheelchair. The one problem is finding the place! There are few & very small signs. I got the feeling they really aren't excited about lots of people going there! We just guessed about which dirt road to take, finally, after much searching. Also, we needed to get as close as possible because of my wheelchair. Most people were actually walking the road to get there, which I would have done myself if I could walk! The dirt road goes through the vineyards. To me personally, I felt like it was worth the effort to find & go see it!...

Original and unique place located in Borgloon. More than the sculpture, this place offers an opportunity to enjoy the beauty of Limburgse Haspengouw (landscape dedicated on agriculture, specifically fruit cultivation, on a slightly hilly set up). From there you can discover the region with plenty of beautiful trails between the cultures, meadows and groves.

Be very careful : You can't access directly by car the area ! If you drive on the surrounding agricultural tracks (only for tractors, bicycles, horse riders and pedestrians), you'll break the law and may get a €174+ fine (third-degree infraction). Then, do NOT go through the signs (F99c) obviously indicating the restriction (see picture). Police is patrolling and may intercept you whether driving or being parked. Instead, you can easily reach the place (5 minutes walk) from a parking located nearby on the Sint-Truidersteenweg (see...