26 September 2022 – This month, I started as a part-time Professor of Architectural Design at the University of Antwerp. I will proceed where my book Architecture in the Fractured City stopped in 2008: collecting and analyzing intervention projects in the existing city and the development of a design theory for such tasks. Other responsibilities include the third-year design exercise Architecture and Construction in which students study the Italian residential palazzo.

In my teaching, I use a strict architectural definition of sustainability. There is much to learn from the history of the European city. You can thematise sustainability as an urban phenomenon, in which buildings are stable constructions that anticipate changeability on the one hand and fit into the dynamics of our cities on the other.

I have been following Flemish architecture for about 30 years now. My colleague friend Paul Vermeulen even calls me a Belgian architect. I am quite honoured to be contributing to the vibrant architectural culture in Flanders. Design is at the heart of Antwerp’s architecture school. Students receive solid education in engineering, theory, and drawing.

This leaves more than enough time for my practice. I was fortunate to be able to attract two talented students to my office. Jeffrey Reule and Harmen van der Wilt know my work. They work independently and provide the support that makes adventures in Antwerp and elsewhere possible. Moreover, their drive proves to be good for rejuvenating the practice.