By building and rebuilding urban space, the construction sector caters to an essential urban need, both in the past and today. However, the sector faces specific challenges: a local embeddedness that is under pressure, an enduring need for sufficient skilled workers, and a transition to a circular economy that needs to be made. To grasp this complexity, geographers, historians and architectural engineers at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel are taking a new, interdisciplinary look at the Brussels construction sector from 1695 to the present day.

This symposium presented the results of the research project ‘Building Brussels’, which focused on the composition and organisation of the Brussels building sector and how space can be made for construction companies in the city. It introduced the follow-up project ‘Rebuilding Brussels’, which examines how the construction sector can be a pioneer in creating a circular economy and an inclusive labour market in Brussels.

The hybrid symposium took place on Thursday 10 February 2022 (13:00-17:00h) at Centrum Hageltoren / Centre Tour à Plomb, Slachthuisstraat 24 Rue de l’Abattoir, 1000 Brussels.

PROGRAMME (Central European Time)

13:00 - Welcome and introduction

13:10 - Building Brussels. The Brussels construction sector and the urban space (1830-today)

Matthijs Degraeve [VUB], Frederik Vandyck [VUB/UAntwerpen] and Sarah De Boeck [VUB/perspective.brussels]

Commentary by Kristiaan Borret [Brussels bouwmeester maître architecte]

14:00 - Break

14:10 - Rebuilding Brussels. The urban construction sector as an engine for social inclusion and circularity (1695-today)

Karoline da Silva Rodrigues [VUB], Lara Reyniers [VUB] and Louise Huba [VUB]

14:40 - Material reward: Supply chains, labour and money in the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire (1666)

Judy Stephenson [The Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction]

15:20 - Break

15:30 - Circularity: Building on the past and looking to the future

Gilli Hobbs [Sustainability and Circular Economy Advisor]

16:10 - Discussion

Judy Stephenson, Gilli Hobbs, Kristiaan Borret and Re/Building Brussels

17:30 - Reception at Halles Saint-Géry / Sint-Gorikshallen: vernissage of the expo Re/Building BrusselsSint-Goriksplein / Place St-Géry, 1000 Brussels

Project Files

• Invitation Symposium Re/Building Brussels
• 01 Ine Wouters - General introduction
• 02 Matthijs Degraeve - Construction entrepreneurs in a transforming urban space
• 03a Frederik Vandyck - Learning from the architecture of construction workplaces pt 1
• 03b Frederik Vandyck - Learning from the architecture of construction workplaces pt 2
• 03c Frederik Vandyck - Learning from the architecture of construction workplaces pt 3
• 04 Sarah De Boeck - Making space for the foundational economy
• 05 Karoline Rodrigues da Silva - Labour market segmentation and urban inequality
• 06 Lara Reyniers - Salvage and reuse of building materials
• 07 Louise Huba - From demolition towards preservation
• 08 Judy Stephenson - Material reward: Supply chains, labour and money in the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire
• 09 Gilli Hobbs - Circularity: Building on the past and looking to the future