Currently, around ten faculties and higher education institutions in Belgium – including no fewer than five architecture faculties – are considering substantial extensions to cope with the pressure of an exponentially growing student population and buildings that have become obsolete. Far from being isolated, these projects are often part of a broader long-term plan to reorganise, upgrade and renew the university’s heritage. Given that most universities and higher education institutions are major landowners in the cities where they were founded, this wave of renovation and expansion should not be underestimated: the way in which higher education approaches its real estate portfolio contributes to the growth or decline of a city.

A few projects immediately spring to mind. It is particularly unusual for three major architecture education institutions – the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning at Ghent University and the Faculties of Architecture at the Free University of Brussels and the University of Liège – to launch competitions for the extension of their buildings at almost the same time. All three are facing a severe shortage of space. In the case of the ULB and ULiège, the already critical situation is compounded by a merger between several former higher education institutions, which have joined the university. In addition to doubling the number of students, the accompanying academisation has created new needs in terms of space dedicated to scientific research. A new educational project was launched and the competition aimed to provide a spatial solution. The fifteen projects that were submitted, like a course in contemporary architectural theory, provide an insight into how architects wish to reshape the education they themselves once received. In addition to the inspiring diversity of spatial, technical and educational proposals, the projects are linked by the same dual ambition: to make the university an exemplary project in the context of climate transition, with an openness to and for the city. This ambition was obviously also whispered in the ear by the mission itself. Universities today are built in a radically different way from what was done years ago, at the time of the first major wave of expansion. The time is no longer ripe for large, isolated campuses on the outskirts of the city, nor for new, iconic, autonomous buildings. Today’s campuses are part of an inner space, integrated into the existing fabric, enhancing old buildings, densifying and experimenting, while respecting climate neutrality. Beyond being ecological, the choice of the city is also one of identity. ‘By organising a competition and a new project, we wanted to give the fledgling Faculty of Architecture its own identity, within the university and at the heart of the city of Liège,’ explains Pierre Hallot, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Liège. The Faculty of Architecture and Art at Hasselt University is also seeking to reconnect with the city at the beguinage transformed by Bovenbouw, which acts as a counterbalance to the Diepenbeek campus.

The fact that campus expansion can also be an architectural assignment for students was demonstrated by the Faculty of Architecture at KULeuven, which temporarily moved into the former WTC towers in Brussels some time ago. The conversion of vacant office buildings into architecture studios proved to be a success. Today, the Faculty is investing in the colossal office building on Boulevard Pacheco in Brussels, a project by A2O and Wit architecten.

The series of new campuses thus creates a dynamic that provides scope for spatial experimentation, typological innovation and ecological challenges. An educational project in itself.