“No one can deny that, like most human activities, architecture is going through a crisis. This crisis can be seen in the built environment, in the architect’s work and in education. ” These words by Jean Barthélemy opened the very first editorial of the newly launched magazine A+ in 1973.

The creation of a magazine by a group of motivated young architects at a time when architecture, like society as a whole, was undergoing an identity crisis, testifies to an unsuspected hope and confidence in the power of words, critical thinking, and imagination. This hope was reflected in powerful texts and bold themes which, over the years, have continued to fuel the debate. Today, 50 years later, we are on our 300th issue. Even if it no longer bears the same name, the crisis that continues to rage still fuels the conviction that architectural criticism and a Belgian platform for discussion are essential in order to respond to countless societal and spatial emergencies.

In fifty years, A+ has reinvented itself several times, adapting both in terms of content and form to the spirit of the times, and has shown a sometimes surprising resilience at a time when the end of Belgium, the end of printing and, to top it all off, the end of architectural culture have been successively announced.

Today, as we proudly contemplate 50 years of Belgian architecture, this issue is not only a celebratory edition, but also the kick-off to a whole year of jubilee celebrations. To mark the occasion, we are dressing up in our finest attire, and the magazine has been given a makeover with larger photos, a refreshed layout for the texts and a new logo.

In addition, this year will be an opportunity to delve into the archives and unearth some of the most interesting articles for each issue, in line with the theme and accompanied by a critical analysis. At the same time, looking ahead to the future, 50 years after the magazine was first published, we will turn our hopeful gaze to the generation of young architects who will be at the helm for the next 50 years. Bolstered by a policy that supports them through competition procedures or instruments such as the Meesterproef, they are resolutely opting for a world focused on energy transition, the repurposing of buildings and the conscious use of materials. Collaborative structures are also being questioned and reinvented, as this new generation envisages a multitude of alternative ways of evolving in the profession.

Petrus Kemme sees in the new generation of “Makers, Thinkers, Activists” the common thread of a deliberately chosen ambiguity, and makes a plea to ‘integrate [this credo]; not only in the artistic circuit, but also in the ambiguous practice of traditional creative disciplines, complemented by a touch of research, activism or social entrepreneurship, in a Belgian context which, for every young architect, was, is and will remain far from unambiguous”. He does not shy away from the complexity of the discipline, in a field where constraints are constantly multiplying. ‘This complexity demonstrates its interest,’ concludes Jean Barthélemy. May a magazine such as ours contribute modestly to a better understanding of its richness. To provoke awareness, reflection and discussion, to be a call, a contact, a presence, a tool, a source of mutual enrichment: this is ultimately the concern of A+.” In 1973 as in 2023!