Department of Architecture and Urban Planning

Research Projects Theory and History of Architecture

Integration of Contemporary Architecture in Historical Cities in Belgium (1970-1989)
Revisionist history of postmodern architecture in Liège and Bruges (1970-1989), mapping debates on integrating new buildings in historic cities.
Integratie van hedendaagse architectuur in historische steden in België (1970-1989). Een historische herziening van het postmodernisme in Luik en Brugge door een mapping van posities en debatten
What design documents (can) do
PhD research on how design documents shape power, knowledge, and decisions in building projects, studied through three Flemish case studies.
Wat Ontwerpdocumenten kunnen doen
MONOS. Artist Museums: Shrines and Reflections
Exhibition comparing the architecture of 12 artist museums in Belgium and neighbouring countries, curated by Maarten Liefooghe for Roger Raveel Museum.
Zaalzicht Monos M1 (1 van 4) midres.jpeg
Exhibition 'bOb Van Reeth, first Flemish Government Architect' (2026)
Memorial exhibition on bOb Van Reeth as first Flemish Government Architect, his founding of the bouwmeesterschap and the Open Call procedure.
Photos: Useful Art Services
OASE 120: Quality Settings / Kwaliteitskamers
OASE 120 examines how architectural quality is negotiated through city architects, quality commissions and design competitions
OASE 120 - 01.jpg
Touring Belgium
Book exploring how printed travel media — guides, postcards, albums — shaped Belgium's national architectural heritage between 1830 and 1920.
TOURING-BELGIUM - COVER - 00 - FRONT.jpg
Copying as Common Practice in Early Modern Architecture (CCPEMA)
FWO project on copying and reproduction in early modern architectural practice, challenging the dominant narrative of original genius and disegno.
Circularity and Re-use in Roman Building Culture from Antiquity to the 20th century
Interdisciplinary study on circular building practices in Rome across three periods — Antiquity, the early modern era, and the early 20th century.
Re-used materials in the Severan restoration of the pediment of the Porticus of Octavia, Rome. Its now exposed pediment (invisible in Antiquity) can be seen to consist almost entirely of re-used architectural elements. Photo: Simon J. Barker.
Hennebique and After: Concrete in Belgium, 1890-2020
Exhibition showcasing student research on 75 concrete constructions in Belgium (1890-2020), with digital models and VR presentations at Vandenhove Centre.
H&A.jpg
Processes of commodification and valuation of architectural fragments
Research on how early-20th-century architectural fragments became trade commodities, tracing their value, circulation, and reuse through case studies.
Architectural fragments owned by W.R. Hearst. Left: "an important [Moorish XIV century] wooden ceiling". Right: "a very rare gothic doorway"
Chronograms of Architecture: Circular Design Principles, Between Theory and Practice
Research project developing chronogram drawings to map circular design principles in architecture, building on Charles Jencks' Evolutionary Tree method.
Chronograms of architecture: Circulaire ontwerpprincipes, tussen theorie en praktijk
Contemporary image constructions
PhD on how contemporary architectural images operate, analysing their construction and institutional performances through three European practices.
Hedendaagse beeldconstructies
An Architecture of Machines: Francesco di Giorgio’s Opusculum de architectura
Study of Francesco di Giorgio's Opusculum de architectura (c. 1475), an exceptional illustrated manuscript on machine design dedicated to Duke Federico.
Francesco di Giorgio, folio 2r, Opusculum de’ architectura (c. 1475) London, The British Museum, Nr. 1947,0117.2 © The Trustees of the British Museum
Architecture (de)mobilised : (digital) explorations of the Belgian (post-)military construction site
Doctoral research combining construction history and digital humanities to explore Belgian military architecture beyond the modernist avant-garde narrative.
D_IJzertoren_02.jpg
Ad Hoc Baroque: Marcel Raymaekers’ Salvage Architecture in Postwar Belgium
Research project by Ghent University and Rotor documents Marcel Raymaekers' unique postwar reuse practice in Belgium. Published as a book in 2023.
MR_EN_front cover.jpg
Architecture Exhibitions in 'Flanders', 1983-2010
Project mapping architecture exhibitions in Flanders (1983–2010), analysing how platforms and display spaces shaped public debate and contributed to emerging architectural policy.
'Homeward, Contemporary Architecture in Flanders', Antwerp, deSingel, 1999-2000
Exhibition 'Open Call. 20 Years of Public Architecture'
Travelling exhibition (2019) on 20 years of the Flemish Government Architect's Open Call: how the procedure promotes architectural quality through client support, selection and design.
Vakgroep maakt tentoonstelling over de Open Oproep
Expolab: Exhibition & Lecture Series
Expolab (2014–2015): public research project on exhibiting architecture, featuring a masterclass, lecture series and exhibition, co-organised by the department and Archipel vzw.
expolab
Urban and Architectural Heritage in Kinshasa, DR Congo
A survey of urban and architectural heritage in Kinshasa (DRC) was conducted between 2009 and 2011 at the initiative of Bernard Toulier (French Ministry of Culture and Communication). Johan Lagae was in charge of the historical research.
Stedelijk en bouwkundig erfgoed in Kinshasa, DR Congo
Piranesi. The Print Collection of Ghent University
Exhibition 'Piranesi' (MSK Ghent, 2008–2009) presents the near-complete Piranesi print collection from the UGent libraries, with catalogue and symposium. 20,000+ visitors.
Affiche.jpeg
Publication of The Baroque in Architectural Culture, 1880-1980
The edited volume The Baroque in Architectural Culture 1880-1980 has appeared with Ashgate; editors are Andrew Leach, Maarten Delbeke and John Macarthur.
Verschijning van The Baroque in Architectural Culture, 1880-1980
Exhibition Orban Space: Luc Deleu – T.O.P. office
Exhibition on Orban Space (2013): Luc Deleu – T.O.P. office analyses public space globally through 5 thematic clusters, with archival documents from 1969 to 2013.
Tentoonstelling Orban Space- Luc Deleu - T.O.P. office - Affiche.jpg
Architectural Histories. The online open access journal of the EAHN
Architectural Histories is the open access journal of the EAHN (est. 2013), publishing historical, historiographical and critical research on architecture and the built environment after blind peer review.
Architectural Histories. The online open access journal of the EAHN
Mapping Kinshasa
Exhibition analysing Kinshasa's urban development as a palimpsest through seven panels, created by UGent students for the Afropolis exhibition (2010-2011)
Mapping Kinshasa
The Memory of Congo: The Colonial Era
Exhibition 'The Memory of Congo' (RMCA, 2005) sheds new light on Congo's colonial past through collections, interviews and thematic displays. Over 140,000 visitors.
Het geheugen van Congo. De koloniale tijd.