Thematic Tracks

Chairs: Prof. Dr. Koenraad Van Cleempoel & Prof. Dr. Bie Plevoets, Hasselt University

The built environment forms the physical representation of the history and memory of societies (Plevoets & Van Cleempoel, 2019). Transforming buildings and places can maintain, strengthen, alter or suppress these narratives and reveal intentional values (Augustiniok et al, 2021). In a diverse society, a multiple and inclusive interpretation of heritage is necessary. To be able to work with these narratives in the process of transformation, we need methods to read, interpret and activate the meaning(s) and memory of a place. Hence, research questions addressed by this working group include: How to unravel the narratives linked to a particular place? Which are the physical traces that represent these narratives? How to document, research and secure the immaterial values of spaces? How can we deal with buildings whose traces of the past are ambiguous or reveal a controversial or contested history? What to do with sites that have no material traces left but carry values and meanings that have a longer history but were erased over time?

Chair: Prof. dr. Caroline Voet, KU Leuven

This working group places the explorative approach of The Hybrid Practitioner (Voet, Scheurs and Thomas 2022) at the core of new possible horizons towards an attitude of resilience and circularity within urban interventions, reuse and reconversion. It approaches Architectural Culture through the unfolding of the genealogy of its buildings: through the relation between the design process, its tools and methods, and the buildings it produces. Fuelled by the expertise of researchers who are both practicing architects and academic writers, a creative lens combines fundamental research with more operative and ahistorical techniques such as deep reading through re drawing and writing. The starting point of the transformative process of architecture is placed at the drawing board, studying and reconstructing archival design drawings in relation to the As Found, in order to understand why a building is the way it is, and how an architect designed a specific spatial and structural syntax. By studying the built past with a focus on spatial, material and structural systematics, the aim is to develop insights into how and why buildings are made, as well as operative tools and creative methods for the transformation of buildings.

Chair: Prof. dr. Stephanie Van de Voorde, Vrije Universiteit Brussel

For years, the architectural and building industry has focused on the concept of 'embodied energy'. While important, this narrow focus limits our understanding of the built environment. In this working group, we propose a new concept: 'embodied culture'. It emphasizes the building culture embedded in architectural projects. Building culture encompasses the people, relationships, techniques, and habits that shape the design and construction process. Unfortunately, in the framework of reconversion, renovation, or adaptive reuse projects, this underlying building culture and the value of materials (beyond their energy performance or heritage value) is often overlooked. Through a selection of case studies, this working group aims to explore methods to understand how building culture is embedded in materials and buildings, and how to interpret and capture this 'embodied culture'. An important consideration in the selection of case studies is that building culture is always linked to a specific context, in time and place – hence the added value of collaborating on this with an international group of researchers. Possible outcomes include a journal article, a joint research application or a contribution to an exhibition.