Trace: heritage & adaptive reuse

Trace has a focus on the emerging discipline of adaptive reuse in architecture and heritage, developing a theoretical framework from a designerly approach. Studying the historical context of a building or site, we identify and select specific traces - defined as bridges between past and present - of tangible and/or intangible (re-)sources as anchors for the design process. Exploring the spatial potentialities and the poetics of the existing, we consider the transformation of buildings and sites from within.

Team Trace:
heritage & adaptive reuse

Our guest research fellows:

Former guest research fellows:

Koenraad Van Cleempoel

Function

Head of research domain Trace: heritage & adaptive reuse

E-mail

Koenraad.vancleempoel@uhasselt.be

Projects

Trace PHD

Over the years we promoted, guided and supported doctoral students in their research. With combined knowledge and energy our students took adaptive reuse in a broader and more international context.

Needles to say we are proud of all the work that's been done and we are looking forward to more inspiration!

Religious heritage

A part of our research involved religious heritage in Flanders. The substantial decline in participants in the Catholic service in Flanders means that the use, management and maintenance of parish churches are ever more difficult.

We investigated the opportunities for adaptive reuse of churches and monasteries. Check this page for an overview of our work.

Educational Projects Trace

The research group Trace is closely connected to the teaching staff of the international master adaptive reuse. This academic master’s programme is innovative as it considers preservation through the act of adaptive reuse instead of mere conservation and restoration. Rather than relying on an archaeological perspective, it emphasises a designerly approach to give new and unexpected energy to buildings.

As Found Scientific Research Network

The researchers involved in the Scientific Research Network Read.Adapt.Reuse share an interest in exploring innovative methods for reading and interpreting the cultural layers of the built environment and activating tangible and intangible traces of the past. Visit this page to find out more about the network.

As Found: International colloquium on adaptive reuse

In September 2023 the Flanders Architecture Institute and Hasselt University organized the international colloquium and exhibition As Found. It aimed to bring together designers, researchers and students to discuss experimental concepts and practices to intervene in the existing built environment and heritage.

International Laboratory For Architecture And Urban Design (ILAUD) 1976 2002

Participation and reuse: a visual and intellectual history

Established in 1976 by Spazio e Società’s founder Giancarlo de Carlo (1919-2005), the International Laboratory for Architecture and Urban Design (ILAUD) was conceived as a counter-university which united Team X figures and representatives from some international leading schools in architecture...

Study: willingness-to-pay for the conservation of built heritage

The Flemish Agency Immovable Heritage commissioned a study to measure the willingness-to-pay of the Flemish population for the conservation of built heritage in the municipality they live. Goal of the study: measure the value that the local population attributes to heritage sites in their immediate surroundings.

Reusing the ruin

The project REUSING THE RUIN begins from the hypothesis that recognition of the process of ruination as a given condition of the built environment and embracing the qualities and characteristics derived from this process will generate new insights and concepts concerning the continuous use, reuse, and adaptation of buildings and structures.

Cahier: TRACE – Notes on Adaptive Reuse

The cahier TRACE – Notes on Adaptive Reuse is an annual peer-reviewed publication by our research group.

TRACE has a focus on the emerging discipline of adaptive reuse in architecture and heritage, developing a theoretical framework from a designerly approach. Studying the historical context of a building or site, they identify and select specific traces – defined as bridges between past and present – of tangible and/or intangible (re-)sources as anchors for the design process. Exploring the spatial potentialities and the poetics of the existing, they consider the transformation of buildings and sites from within.

The content of each cahier is based on a combination of a thematic approach with a reflection on some of the topics addressed in research and education. The texts are essayistic but follow the requirements of a peer-reviewed scientific journal as listed below. In addition to the annual volumes that are aligned with the academic years, we foresee the possibility of special issues that can be published to address a specific topic or project.

The cahier TRACE - Notes on Adaptive Reuse has an open-access policy. Besides a limited number of hard copies, each volume is also made available in pdf from the website of the research group TRACE.

Click here to find out more.

International master adaptive reuse

The research group Trace is closely connected to the teaching staff of the international master adaptive reuse. It is safe to assume that (interior) architects will have to deal increasingly with the transformation and adaptation of the built environment. Today, the role of architecture is being re-defined due to demographic, economic and ecological challenges. Transition and reuse take centre stage in the practice and theory of the profession.

This academic master’s programme is innovative as it considers preservation through the act of adaptive reuse instead of mere conservation and restoration. Rather than relying on an archaeological perspective, it emphasises a designerly approach to give new and unexpected energy to buildings. Therefore, the programme seeks to train students who explore and activate the rich potential of existing sites through design supported by research and theory.

Find out more about the Master of Interior Architecture