Celebrating Public Architecture

The Open Call in Flanders (the Dutch-speaking, northern part of Belgium) is more than just another architecture competition: any governmental agency or public institution can choose to work with an Open Call for any given construction project. Since its invention by the first Flemish Government Architect bOb Van Reeth in 2000, more than 700 assignments have been published in this procedure, resulting in almost 350 completed public architectural and infrastructural projects so far. This volume compiles 70 of these, from all over Flanders-from its west coast to the Dutch border in the east-to illustrate the astounding quality of these projects. They prove that public architecture can be daring, thought-provoking, cooperative, and well-done at the same time. The book takes an extensive look at how this procedure works, how it is received by architects, politicians, and clients-and ultimately, at the outstanding public architecture in Flanders as an example for other countries to study closely.