MAS / ANTWERP
Towers have strong symbolic meaning.
Ever since the myth of the tower of Babylon, towers have been associated with human vanity and megalomania.
For humans to want to build something that stretches towards the sky, where God resides, has been considered a sacrilegious act of defiance.
Also many contemporary critics are sceptical of skyscrapers: in feminist theory, they are viewed as phallic symbols, a patriarchal society’s public celebration of masculinity.
Marxists have claimed that they represent the accumulated wealth of capitalists and as such are the physical manifestation of an unjust economic system.
Others, such as architect Le Corbusier, have lauded high towers as the future of cities, a structural potential for efficient urban systems where all parts of life might become integrated.
In his view, tall buildings could be a symbol of hope for a better future.
With its mere sixty metres, the MAS is no skyscraper, but it is among the tallest buildings in Antwerp, and from its rooftop terrace, open to the public free of charge, it is possible to look out over the surrounding city, see the extravagant Central Station and the historic Boerentoren, as well as other places of interest.
Some come to the terrace only for a quick visit, others bring coffee and snacks and have a picknick on the floor.
To get to the top, visitors have to go up through the building, where each level is rotated ninety degrees around the exhibition galleries.
Outside of the galleries, you will see the city from various angles and perspectives, as you gradually ascend through the building.
MAS is an acronym for Museum aan de Stroom (in English, Museum by the Stream) and is home to a museum, with both permanent and temporary exhibtions.
It sits by the river Scheldt in the Ellandje district, and has been open since 2011.
Its archive contains collections from the former Ethnographic Museum as well as the Maritime Museum, both of which ceased to exist when MAS was built.
Instead, their legacies were incorporated into the new establishment.
The central focus of the MAS is to tell the story of Antwerp and how this city connects with the surrounding world, ranging from the history of Antwerp as a centre of international trade and shipping to outlining how Antwerp became an important European hub for art and culture.
Its overall aim is to demonstrate how people in all times and all over the world have been connected with one another, through art and commerce, and that this sharing of cultures is what has progressed civilisation.
The symbol of the MAS is the hand, which is also the symbol of Antwerp. The hand is considered to be one of the most symbolically charged parts of the body.
Already Aristotle described the hand as "the tool of tools" and Roman educator Quintilianus believed that we speak through our hands - they command, summon, dismiss, ask and deny. A raised hand represents worship, prayer or greeting but can also communicate consternation or fear. Two raised hands symbolize invocation, weakness, ignorance and surrender.
The façade of the MAS, made from Indian sandstone, is covered with about 3,000 hands, of which a thousand have been donated. Aside from their symbolic value, they also represent the patrons of MAS who made it possible to construct the building and to create the museum.
The hands are silver-coloured, which contrasts with the matte red stone of the building, as planned by Neutelings Riedijk Architects.
