On the trail of industrial architecture in Belgium: an educational journey through Belgium with 20 motivated students!

Belgium has a formative role in the history of industrialisation. As early as the 1830s, the country began to adapt technological innovations from Great Britain, making it one of the pioneers of European industry. In Wallonia and Flanders in particular, important coal mines, steel and textile industries developed, which shaped the industrial landscape in the long term.

Our expertly guided excursion started in Brussels, accompanied by architect Dipl.-Ing. Dario Travaš from ATP Vienna. Here we explored impressive industrial buildings that bear witness to the city's rich industrial past. Another highlight was the informative lecture by Mr Kristiaan Borret, Bouwmeester-Maitre Architecte of the Brussels-Capital Region. He explained to us in detail the tasks of the ‘Chief Government Architect’, who, from an independent position, promotes the quality of urban development in Brussels. After these in-depth insights into Brussels, we continued our tour in Leuven. Under the direction of Ward Verbakel, we gained insights into the architectural history of the University of KU Leuven and the industrial past of the city. To round off our trip, we explored the historic industrial district in Ghent, which once had an incredible density of 1,500 factories per 100,000 inhabitants. Finally, we were able to visit the impressive revitalisation project of the Design Museum in Ghent. We would like to express our sincere thanks to Bram Aerts from the architectural firm ATAMA in Ghent, who guided us through this great project.