Research Els De Vos

Abstract

This study executed for the European Council of Interior Architects ECIA, examines the differences in the degree of professionalisation between European countries. Second, it investigates what kind of knowledge professional organisations in Europe need to professionalise the discipline. It does so by looking how the discipline is regulated in the various European countries by three components, education, professional organisations and by the law. This research is a subproject of the European funded ECIA-BCSP project: Building on connections for a stronger profession.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: De Vos Els
• Co-promoter: Michels Marjan
• Co-promoter: Somers Inge

Research team(s)

• Henry van de Velde

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This study executed for the European Council of Interior Architects ECIA, examines the differences in the degree of professionalisation between European countries. Second, it investigates what kind of knowledge professional organisations in Europe need to professionalise the discipline. It does so by looking how the discipline is regulated in the various European countries by three components, education, professional organisations and by the law. This research is a subproject of the European funded ECIA-BCSP project: Building on connections for a stronger profession.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: De Vos Els
• Co-promoter: Michels Marjan
• Co-promoter: Somers Inge

Research team(s)

• Henry van de Velde

Project website

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This research examines how interests in power domination manifest themselves in the built environment, in a process we called the political 'neutralization' of urban space. For this, it examines the situation in Egypt, where the government is using urban design to depoliticise public space by impeding various forms of inappropriate use. This is reflected in an unprecedented pace of urbanisation, relocation and resettlement since 2014. Also some special control mechanisms are deployed in these new spaces, such as systematic exclusion, segregation, and deep surveillance. The local idiosyncrasies, trends, such as neoliberalisation, multi-coloured citizenship, depoliticization, camps and financialization, are both global trends and local events relevant to the concept of neutralisation. Studying the recent archetypes of relocation in Egypt allows us to understand these global ideas in their Egyptian political and historical context, as well as the translation of politics and hegemony into spatial forms. The neutralisation process is studied by means of two complementary cases that cover various aspects of the process: the Maspero neighbourhood in central Cairo, and the public housing project 'Tahia Masr' in al-Asmarat on the outskirts of the city. These two case studies make it possible to uncover the precise mechanisms by which design is involved in this disruption and reduction of urban multiplicity and territoriality. They illuminate how the process of neutralisation involves the shedding of the multiplicity of scripts present in spaces and territoriality, and their reduction to a single formal spatial script that leads to a unified territorial dominance.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: De Vos Els
• Fellow: Abotera Mohamad

Research team(s)

• Henry van de Velde

Project website

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

In many Western countries, the field of interior architecture is characterised by an on-going identity crisis. The confusion becomes apparent via the diverse nomenclature: interior architecture, interior design and interior decoration. Furthermore, the discipline was often (and still is) perceived as feminine and amateurish. Attempts to correct this image have significantly characterised the professionalisation of interior design since World War II. This is particularly noticeable in the field of education. Contemporary interior design courses are still challenged to define themselves and to address their gendered image. Vocational courses have now achieved academic status, but in which ways did this change the identity of the profession? This project takes Belgium as a case study because of its diverse and bilingual educational landscape. The programmes in interior design are rooted in different traditions: the Beaux Arts tradition and the Arts & Crafts. How did interior design evolve in relation to these distinct educational branches? To address this, the project aims to develop detailed genealogies of all interior design courses in Belgium up until 1999, the year of the Bologna Declaration. Furthermore, a new method will be elaborated and refined for assessing the role of education in the identity formation of interior design. This method will also provide a thematic framework for international comparative research.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: De Vos Els

Research team(s)

• Henry van de Velde

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project investigates how gender relations become manifest in the design, uses and representations of the built environment of displaced Nubians, an African population that was displaced and resettled in 1964, under a development-induced displacement and resettlement (DIDR) scheme. It does so in order to develop a toolkit for designers who want to work with marginalized communities. Gender aspects of disposition and post-displacement architecture are both under-theorized themes in DIDR literature in general. Nevertheless, resettled societies are often averse to their built environment as it does not satisfy their cultural and socio-economic needs. Women in particular, often suffer great losses in their status and the quality of their spaces. The case of Nubians in particular is understudied in most of its aspects, as it was unavailable for independent research since 1960's. This research intends to fill this gap as it scrutinises from a gender perspective the spaces of displacement used by Nubians in Egypt. A single case-study approach is employed, as the research sheds light on the Nubian settlement of Qustul, a medium-sized settlement which is also the home town of the researcher. The research approach is largely informed by feminist literature and post positive epistemology. The project uses ethnographic methods for collecting and processing data, and especially auto-ethnographic tools that position the researcher as a displaced person, a Nubian, and a woman; all of which are factors influencing data acquisition and processing. The research has explored a toolkit with participatory observations, experiential drawings, and innovative mapping techniques in order to characterize other space dynamics, more concerned on the gendered experience. This research argues that spaces of forced resettlement act as a tool of spatial violence that disenfranchises displaced people, especially women. So far, the research has produced maps of spaces and spatial tactics that offer resistance against spatial violence. These maps will form the point of departure to extract ontological lessons about the gendered spatial production and the concepts of public and private space. Eventually, it will result in a moral and tactical toolkit for architects, urbanist, and planners.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: De Vos Els
• Fellow: Ahmed Menatalla

Research team(s)

• Henry van de Velde

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

In this project the meaning of home and living will be explored in terms of location and housing typology. Which housing typologies are suitable for living in the future? Which housing typology do the young generations in Flanders prefer? Which typologies are desirable?

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: De Vos Els

Research team(s)

• Henry van de Velde

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The project, Re-use of modernist buildings, RMB wants to initiate an educational framework of common definitions, approaches and methodologies on a European level. The project departs from existing research, educational practices and reference projects in the program countries and associated states, complemented with new cases study and methodology research. RMB explores combinations of traditional e-learning forms, on site events such as conferences and workshops as well as extended innovative e-learning options in digital fabrication and building integrated management (BIM). It will improve the possibilities of a remote teaching in design education which is not self-evident up till now. Demographic and climate chance has resulted in huge qualitative and quantitative challenges and demands for the European building sector. The need for suitable and affordable housing in the city centres and urban agglomerations is increasing and cannot, and should not, be fulfilled with new constructions only. A major task for the building industry should be realized through the refurbishment of the existing housing stock, as well as conversion from other building typologies such as warehouses, offices and public building with special focus on the post WW2 modern era. Due to discrepancies in the European job market and employment situations, graduates are well aware of the fact that they may have to leave their country to work in a different country or to be able to work in their countries but in international projects. In several international networks Bachelor's and Master's students already have the opportunity to get familiar with the challenges and requirements of the global job market in the building sector. This experience related to language training, intercultural and interdisciplinary competences are very much appreciated by the students as relevant for their professional future. RMB will add an extra level to this by not only offering a coherent international study program, combining the local and the international but also by inserting in this curriculum cooperation with industry and with other institutions to investigate and solve relevant practical, technical and societal questions. Students get acquainted with industry and with praxis via internships, graduation assignments, conferences, workshops and guest speakers.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: De Vos Els

Research team(s)

• Henry van de Velde

Project website

Project type(s)

• Education Project
• Research Project

Abstract

This proposal aims an in-depth study of the work and professional life of architect Jul De Roover: his writings, education and practice. De Roover occupied gatekeeping roles within interior design education, gave shape to the professionalization of interior design in Belgium and designed some noticeable housing projects. It is motivated by the assumption that a better understanding of this pilot project will help to develop a framework for the investigation of other actors that had a key role in the development of the discipline of interior architecture.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: De Vos Els

Research team(s)

• Henry van de Velde

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

"Urban public space is one of the hallmarks of the city, of city life, and urban culture. For these reasons hybrid forms of public space, the so called second public space, are interesting insofar they don't pose a subversion of the first public space." (Borret, beleidsnota 2006-2011, p.39) The former Antwerp City Architect, Kristiaan Borret, draws attention to the qualities of 'second' public space, such as arcades, passages, inner courtyards and public interior spaces. At the same time, he is hesitant about the desirability of 'second' public spaces, because they may damage the quality of the so called 'first' public space: the actual streets, parks and squares. This critical attitude towards new types of public space is apparent in the narratives of profound loss (Sorkin 1992; Koolhaas 2002; De Cauter 2004). On the other hand, 'second' public spaces may serve as a meeting place for groups who do otherwise not find their own place in the main streets and squares. Manual de Solá Morales (1992) was probably the first to stress the importance of these new forms of public space as stimulators of everyday life in the contemporary European city. Ali Mandanipour argues that in the European city with its expansive population and increasing social and cultural complexity, the creation of inclusive public interiors may offer a solution for the threatening social fragmentation (2010). However, the design of qualitative public interiors should be durable through time. So far, especially the 'first' public space was at the center of substantial research (Meyer, a.o. 2009; Van Gassen 2003) in the scholarly field of urban design and urbanism. Also different types of specific public interiors, such as shopping malls (Crawford 1992, Bittencourt, 2013) have been investigated thoroughly in the field of architecture and interior design. However an interdisciplinary approach on the subject of public interiors is lacking. This study aims to bridge the disciplinary boundaries and to search for a communal framework to design public interiors in a more holistic way. The research question is as follows: How can we design durable, qualitative public interiors or 'second' public spaces, which form an integrated part of a network with the 'first' public space? In order to design such spaces, we will develop design principles that are based on theories of public space and urban development, as well as theories of interior architecture, and are tested in case studies.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: De Vos Els
• Co-promoter: Van Acker Maarten
• Fellow: Poot Tine

Research team(s)

• Henry van de Velde

Project website

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This research project aims at studying the educational program and the training of architects at the Antwerp Royal Academy of Arts (founded in 1663) and its successors (from 1952 onwards the National Higher Institute of Architecture and Urbanism, and since 1996 the Department of Design Sciences of the Antwerp University College Artesis). The other architectural related programs are included in the study: urbanism and spatial planning, interior architecture and conservation of the built and un-built heritage. Also the buildings in which the education took place, are the scope of this research. The result of this interdisciplinary research projects consists of a publication with thematic essays.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: de Smaele Henk
• Co-promoter: De Vos Els
• Co-promoter: Lombaerde Piet

Research team(s)

• Power in History - Centre for Political History

Project type(s)

• Research Project