A construction site is where a building comes to life. After months or years of design, calculations and negotiations, the project finally takes shape. It is therefore also a reality check: you can produce as many perspective drawings, 3D renderings or models as you like, but it is only on site – when you see everything in full scale – that you can verify whether the proportions, the spatial qualities and the effect of the materials used actually correspond to what you thought you had designed.

Many building sites are places of constant investigation and, certainly in the case of complex renovations and restorations, places of evolving understanding, new discoveries, adjustments and design decisions. The restoration of Henry Van de Velde’s Boekentoren in Ghent by Robbrecht and Daem architects proved to be such a feat, preceded by years of research, with the site itself turning out to be a combination of impressive logistics, new technologies and small-scale craftsmanship.