Curated by Stéphane Damsin and Jan Haerens of the Brussels architectural firm Ouest, the exhibition Urban Legend will open on 15 October at Bozar. Drawing on stories from urban planners, artists and writers, they will present their vision of the city as a living organism. On the occasion of this show, they contributed to this issue of A+ on co-creation and shared authorship, a transdisciplinary approach in which non-architects are actively involved in the design and construction process.

In 2016 Ouest was commissioned to repurpose a former printing workshop in Brussels into workspaces for Zinneke, the socio-artistic non-profit organization known for the parade of the same name. On the initiative of then director Myriam Stoffen, Ouest took a novel approach to the project; instead of working with a strictly defined programme, assignment definition or schedule, they opted for a long preparatory and exploratory phase. In doing so, they became a link in a broad network of involved parties – from architects and clients to end users and local residents – with shared responsibility and shared control. Friction and conflict were not seen as something to be avoided, but as an essential part of the process. Surprisingly, the project proceeded more quickly and more smoothly than many comparable public commissions.