XX Models. Young Belgian Architecture is the first book to survey young contemporary architecture in Belgium through a selection of twenty recent important projects by an up-and-coming generation of promising architects.

Geert Bekaert puts this production into its perspective. By going over the history of the country’s architecture, this éminence grise of architectural criticism in Belgium shows how a new generation are breaking free of the dogmatic positions that dominated the architectural debate in the twentieth century. The young Belgian architects are not beholden to any preconceived idea of what architecture should be. They are not united by the same formal approach or cultural identity but by a new and open attitude to their profession. Integrated into society, they are aware that every project occurs within a social and cultural context and they accept that architectural solutions are relative. The result is a production that, in both the north and the south of the country, has seen considerable and widespread improvement in recent years.

Illustrated by photos, drawings and plans, the twenty projects presented here have all been made in model form: an opportunity to study this fascinating medium that, as enlarged upon in her essay by Marie-Ange Brayer, director of the Fond Régional d’Art Contemporain d’Orléans, enables us to question the mediation of the project and the status of creator, the history of architecture and its relationship with other artistic disciplines.

On the basis of these 20 firms, 20 projects and 20 models, XX Models. Young Belgian Architecture is a reference guide to young Belgian architecture.