As far as urban renewal is concerned, Kortrijk has long been known as one of the best students in the class. Nevertheless, the city is struggling with a stagnating population growth, while currently houses are steadily being built and open spaces still being taken over. Kortrijk decided to convert the need into a virtue, and opted for a radical upgrade of the existing urban fabric. The urban development of the grandiose - with large-scale infrastructure projects - is no longer central. It is an 'urban development of the everyday', with a lot of attention for the improvement of the daily living and working environment of the Kortrijk residents. Hundreds of residents debated with each other for a year and drew a bold vision for the future of their city.  → more

The Open Space Platform originated from a joint quest as to how we can better deal with open space in the future. Not as the residual space of an urbanized landscape, but as a lever for sustainable development. The Flemish Land Agency took the initiative here, with a stimulating outlook of the future to celebrate 25 years of land use. Six reredos depict the future of open space. This formed the start of what has since grown into a widely supported social platform operation.  → more

Citizens are once again demanding right of way on the streets. They are outraged: the quality of the air their children breathe every day at school is downright bad. Parents are joining forces and take action every week, all over the country, under the name ‘Filter Café Filtré’. What is special is that this citizens' movement doesn’t get mired in criticism, but suits the action to the word. Committed architects develop alternative design proposals on how the design of school environments can be different and better.    → more

The International Architecture Biennale became the reason to rename the WTC I tower in Brussels' Noordwijk from a World Trade Center into a World Transformation Center. Artists, students, architects and many others temporarily occupy the office tower, which symbolizes the megalomania of twentieth-century consumptionism. Paradoxically, this place temporarily transforms into a new epicenter to develop concrete actions for a new and sustainable future. Among other things, the 'Proeftuinen Ontharding’ (Unsealing Testing Grounds) project, a transition program aimed at removing concrete, asphalt and buildings, sees the light of day here.  → more

The fact that care lies at the heart of our society needs no further explanation since the covid-19 pandemic. The initiative for the studio series ‘Take Care! Invisible care as a social-spatial issue’ came about just before the outbreak of this global health crisis. Representatives from different policy domains, knowledge institutions, care organizations and architects sat down together. They had discussions for five afternoons on how space can be a lever to integrate care in our society in a ‘normal and natural way’. → more