Retracing the Modern Office Sociotope: Office Interiors in Post-war Belgium

This research elective introduces students in one of the ongoing research projects in the his-tory and theory of interior architecture conducted at the Department of Architecture, KU Leuven. Each year a different case study is addressed, linked to the expertise of the research staff.This academic year the elective focuses on post-war office buildings in Belgium and the specific social environments that arose within. The architect or interior designer had a key role in setting the stage for the development of these new sociotopes. They helped to orchestrate and control tensions between freedom and control, the individual and the crowd, and anarchy and hierarchy within the work environment.

The elective explores the resources by which the now historic sociotope of the post-war office space can be explored and how the influence of the designer can be retraced. Which sources can we address to understand the social and material climate that once emerged in the newly designed office spaces? One type of research material concerns the office buildings them-selves, but as has been the case with the World Trade Centre in Brussels or the RTT tower in Ghent, many of them now have been redeveloped, abandoned or replaced. To understand and value the world the office buildings once housed, additional sources need to be addressed such as archives, interviews, design manuals, design objects, furniture catalogues, newspaper arti-cles, photographic records, novels or films. Students will be asked to explore these resources and to reflect on their potential in an illustrated paper.

For a related history on the interiors of a post-war office tower in Ghent, see: https://www.designmuseumgent.be/en/collection/on-furniture-and-politics

CLASHDAG NETWERK AALST

Elective sem 2, Ghent

RESEARCH QUESTIONS ON INTERIOR SPACES

HISTORY & THEORY

AR(int)/IA/AR EN

FREDIE FLORÉ, NICO DESWAEF