This year, the Interiors Buildings Cities graduation studio focused on relocating the VAi (Flemish Architecture Institute) archive from the city centre of Antwerp to the DeSingel campus, aiming to bring together its activities within a unified setting. Situated at the city’s edge, DeSingel was originally conceived by Léon Stynen as a cultural hub embedded in the landscape, with raised terraces, open courtyards, and carefully composed views. Over time, however, later additions, particularly Beel’s 2010 extension, fragmented the spatial clarity and weakened the building’s relationship to its surroundings.

This project seeks to restore that coherence. A new architectural wall is introduced along the southern façade, drawing on the historical logic of the Brialmont Ramparts. It acts as a threshold shielding the campus from the highway and forming a quiet, inward-facing courtyard. The archive is housed within this structure, making it a central and visible part of the design.

Circulation is reconnected and a series of gardens help rebuild the link between architecture and landscape. The terraces, once neglected and exposed, are reimagined as contemplative spaces with framed views.

Together, these interventions create a unified and welcoming campus where architecture, landscape, and the VAi’s mission come together to strengthen its presence and encourage greater public engagement.

Bergen boasts a rich harbor-centric historical narrative, rooted in its erstwhile prominence as a key Hanseatic Office outpost. The evolutionary trajectory of its port infrastructure has engendered substantial urban development, epitomized by the emergence of the Bryggen precinct. Bryggen, constituting an urban fabric derived from Bergen’s medieval settlement, has retained its structural integrity from the 12th century to contemporary times. Revered as an emblematic facet of Bergen’s cultural legacy, this picturesque enclave within the port precinct garnered early recognition as one of UNESCO’s inaugural World Heritage sites. Sustaining Bryggen’s esteemed status on the heritage roster mandates the formulation of rigorous management protocols and judicious interventions aimed at conserving its historical authenticity. Conversely, Norway’s steadfast commitment to advancing its sustainability agenda engenders imperatives to curtail vehicular and maritime traffic within the vicinity. How, then, do these divergent imperatives reconcile to achieve a symbiotic equilibrium?