ONZE WAARDEN

For the Atlantis project, located at one of the entrances to Brussels, Thierry Behiels chose to work with the French artist Stéphane Guiran, a sculptor and poet born in Draguignan in 1968, who has always sculpted metal lines. Over the past few years, sculpture has led him to play with words. For the artist, who considers himself a poet and a blacksmith, “Sculpting is equivalent to writing in 3-D”.

The Collines de Wavre's artistic walk acquired a fifth sculpture, ‘Elsewhere’, from the Paris-based Belgian artists, Kinga and Anatoly Stolnikoff, of Hungarian and Russian origin.
The work, a metallic sphere with a diameter of 2.20 m that lights up at night, is composed of an assembly of the word 'Elsewhere' in laser-cut steel. The assembled words are welded to form a sphere. ‘Elsewhere’ refers to a place situated outside the surface and weaves an assembly of lines that repeat themselves, cross each other and divide into the inextricable.

"4-Dimensional Circle" decorates the square in front of the shops at 65 Boulevard de la Croisette in Cannes, a project designed by the architects Alain Moatti and Henri Rivière, at the foot of the mythical Miramar building.

The work by Jeppe Hein is comprised of four intersecting rectangular mirrors with a semi-circular opening and a circle appearing in the middle of the sculpture. This circle is highlighted by a series of LED lights installed on the mirrors, illuminating the sculpture at night.

Codic specially commissioned a monumental work from Mauro Staccioli for Val Saint-Quentin. This internationally renowned Italian sculptor created a ‘sculpture/sign’ for Val Saint-Quentin. Its circular shape marks and emphasises the site, inciting a multitude of thoughts among onlookers… "Through this sign, the buildings, gardens, trees, pond, and so on, become itineraries, stories to be experienced in the imagination during our daily routine", he explains.

And he called this work 'Tondo per Le Val Saint-Quentin’ (Circle for Val Saint-Quentin).

It is Mauro Staccioli’s first monumental sculpture in France.

«Bird Cage» was Su-Mei Tse’s first monumental sculpture (in collaboration with Jean-Lou Majerus).

The sculpture is the fruit of a genuine exchange between Codic, the architects and the artist. A stylised birdcage was specially designed for the K2 gardens in Luxembourg, harmoniously integrating with the architecture of the buildings and the environment. The whiteness of this polycarbonate object’s neon light heightens its delicate nature. Its wide open door invites us in and sparks our imagination.

A poetic work in the daytime and magical at night.

Located in Brussels’ European quarter, the Espace Meeûs building stands out from the crowd: its façade, designed by André Jacqmain from the architects' firm Architecture de Genval, is embellished with a monumental sculpture by the artist Marta Pan. The sculpture is called ‘500’ because it was the 500th sculpture made by Marta Pan.

This sculpture is the fruit of a beautiful story, that of an encounter and a respectful dialogue between a renowned architect and an international artist. Thierry Behiels wanted art to be present in the centre of Brussels and asked Marta Pan if she would design a work especially for Brussels. In the beginning, the architect considered that it was up to the artist to adapt to his façade but when they met, the architect, after listening to the artist’s point of view, completely modified his design. Out of this fruitful artistic dialogue emerged a building whose architecture is in perfect symbiosis with the artist’s work.

«The Walking Flower» is a world-famous work by the French painter and sculptor Fernand Léger (1881-1955), a contemporary of Picasso.

«Folded Circle Ring» adorns the inner courtyard of Espace Kennedy in Luxembourg. The sculpture is part of the ‘Folded Circle’ series of sculptures, which the American artist Fletcher Benton began in the 1970s. ‘Folded Circle’ is itself part of the series designed by the sculptor alongside ‘Steel Watercolors’, ‘One-Legged Tables’, etc...

A fourth sculpture, designed by Guy Bauclair, entitled ‘Les Anneaux’ (The Rings) was added to the Collines de Wavre’s artistic walk in 2002. With a diameter of 5.20 metres each, the Rings play on the problem of imbalance but only in appearance because the sculpture is actually physically balanced.

The Plateau de Kirchberg’s urban development fund couldn’t possibly conceive the development of Plateau du Kirchberg without urban art. Since the 1980s, the fund has devoted significant financial aid to urban art. This support has also taken the form of permanent loans from sponsors, such as Codic for the ‘Trois Iles’ (Three Islands) that now adorn the lake in the central park.

A third sculpture by the artist Hanneke Beaumont was added to the Parc des Collines' artistic walk in 1999.

Her works reflect a constant and unique tension between feminine and masculine, nature and culture, modernity and classicism, making her sculptures both timeless and contemporary. Taking human feelings into account, she reaches out to those contemplating her works.

The sculpture's title ‘Observing the Observer’ epitomizes her art. The sculptures invite the viewer to contemplate them while they contemplate and reach out to us.

Upon the request of Thierry Behiels, Vincent Strebelle created a sculpture especially for the business park. This original work illustrates his thoughts on the ‘business world’.

The latter is represented by a coin cut in two through the middle. The two semi-circles are set at the same angle as a globe. If you stand inside the space, you are reflected several times on the inside of the pieces depending on the angle chosen. This reflection inspires a vision of a business park that is also a human concern. The title of the sculpture, ‘Réflexion d’Art, Gens’ not only refers to ‘art’ and ‘people’, but is also a play on the word 'argent' meaning money as well as silver.

Within the framework of the redevelopment of Place Saint-Lambert in Liège, a competition was held by the city of Liège to design a sculpture and fountain as a finishing touch to this great urban renovation. It was the artist of Polish origin, Halinka Jakubowska, who won the competition. The work confirms the mineral aspect of the redesigned square, entrusted to the architect Claude Strebelle. The granite sculpture is composed of three sections, each supplied with a bubbling jet of water, which generates a waterfall effect that breaks into circular waves on the polished stone.
The sculpture was financed by a group of sponsors including Codic.

For the first sculpture for the Collines de Wavre, Thierry Behiels called on a Belgian artist of international renown: Jean-Michel Folon, who created ‘Quelqu’un’ (Someone).

"My ambition in life is to create", Jean-Michel Folon said on the day of the sculpture's inauguration. "I create alone, in my studio. I didn’t know what to do with the block of clay in front of me. What was I going to do? Then I placed my hands on it and they brought to life a man by revealing a head, shoulders, etc. The clay transformed into bronze (...) Someone had begun life as a work of art.”*

A group of local companies, which Codic belonged to through the real estate company Boulevard Jacqmain, sponsored the installation of a fountain at the entrance to the Espace Nord business quarter in Brussels.

The 21 steel sentinels are the work of the artist Pol Bury, one of Belgium’s world-famous sculptors. Each cylinder is a 2 to 3-metre high fountain topped with a polished sphere which reflects and projects a curved image of the surrounding buildings. A fine veil of running water completes the mechanism. The rounded lines of the fountains are animated by the swinging movements of the spheres, caused by the weight of the water.

This was the first sculpture Codic incorporated into one of its projects. ‘Ikaros’ marks the entrance to the ‘Ikaros Business Park’, developed close to Brussels National Airport. Ikaros, or the dream of flying away and always going further…

Thierry Behiels, an art-lover and the project manager at the time, suggested placing a sculpture along the Chaussée de Louvain. Everyone liked the idea. A visionary idea, this initial sculpture was the starting point for a wonderful collection which currently reflects Codic’s corporate culture.

The site on which the Belle-Ile shopping centre now stands remained a piece of wasteland for a long time after the closure of the former water pipe factory in 1980. This site was successfully reallocated in 1995 by Codic, who created a multifunctional complex with shops, services and green spaces.

Vincent Strebelle’s sculpture ‘Conduites d’Eau’ (Water Pipes) refers to the place’s industrial past and stands in the shopping centre. It rests on a tilted concrete slab, linking the ground floor to the first floor. This fountain is comprised of a large staircase formed out of various tilted surfaces which reflect the light off the water. In the middle of the water staircase, the entire length of a long steel pipe – 140 mm in diameter – is shaped into a series of curves leading to the upper basin.