An ambitious Flanders Needs
A Government Architect.
It is with incomprehension that we learn of the intended reform of the Government Architect system. The quality of our environment and of architectural practice in Flanders will be endangered on several fronts if the Government Architect (as an individual, as a team and as an independent institution) is undermined. It is a matter of the quality of our public buildings, public spaces, infrastructures and landscapes. But also of the opportunities the Open Call and other competition formats offer (young) architectural firms and public authorities to help build a good-quality environment. In the course of 15 years, three Government Architects have developed a series of open and transparent procedures to assist public principals: local authorities, town councils, housing associations, the Flemish authorities and many others. As a result, more than 200 high-quality projects have been built all over Flanders, while dozens more are in the pipeline or on the drawing board. The good-quality spaces and buildings that have been or are being built today have put both Flemish architecture policy and architectural practice on the international map. The proposed measures undermine the proper functioning of an effective Flemish government department, and threaten to undo what it has accomplished. Why? To the advantage of what and whom? The independence of the Government Architect is of prime importance. On the basis of a clear ambition to increase the quality of our environment, he is able to set up collaborative ventures with a variety of Flemish departments and services (sometimes very compartmentalised), and with other levels of policy-makers. This is why we oppose a temporary composite committee of part-time experts and the absorption (or compartmentalisation) of the work of the Flemish Government Architect into the Department of Spatial Planning. This undermines the independence, public nature and freedom of speech of those involved. Their temporary status means they will hardly be able to exert any pressure on policy-makers. What is more, the ‘primacy of politics’ opens the door to political appointments. And in that way we are in danger of returning to the culture of building that we have just managed to rid ourselves of, in which building contracts were repeatedly given to the same, politically affiliated and often local designers. In this way Flanders is depriving itself of a powerful and effective instrument for the assistance of principals when selecting the best response to their needs. The independent, advisory voice of the government architect is in other words a vital necessity in safeguarding and enhancing the general and cultural importance of investments of public money in buildings and infrastructure. The recent floods, the need for more places in the care sector, in schools and in child care, plus other recent news items, make it abundantly clear that our country is full to the brim with buildings, and that consequently we must deal with our space in other, more intelligent ways. If the response to these major social challenges leads to banality and mediocrity in our villages, towns and cities, Flanders would be missing an opportunity to build a future of quality. So an ambitious Flanders needs an ambitious building culture and government architect. Three Flemish Government Architects have put Flanders and the Flemish authorities on the architectural and cultural map in no uncertain terms. They have assisted many actors and groupings in Flanders to build good-quality and effective hospitals, schools, town halls, government buildings, squares and much more. Which is why we are making an emphatic protest against the intention, without any prior evaluation, to bring to an end the current system and the positive dynamic that has grown over the last 15 years. We therefore call on citizens, principals, designers and civil society in general to join forces in arguing for an effective continuation of the post of Flemish Government Architect. |
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