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Flanders set to scrap progressive procurement system
10 September, 2014 | By Ellis Woodman
UK practices could lose out as federal government seeks to ditch state architect, writes Ellis Woodman
Since winning federal autonomy from Belgium in the early 1990s, Flanders has developed one of the most progressive
architectural cultures operating anywhere in the world today. The competition system by which the designs of most Flemish
public buildings are secured is known as the Open Call and is managed by the state architect, the Vlaams Bouwmeester.
The Open Call has delivered more than 200 projects of a remarkable standard.
And it is not just local practices that have beneted: Maccreanor Lavington, Sergison Bates, Tony Fretton, Stephen Taylor,
Ian Simpson, Witherford Watson Mann and DRDH have all secured substantial commissions through a procurement system
that is notably less risk-averse than our own.
We get the chance to compete for work whose scale is well within our capability, but in sectors we havent got much track
record in, says Witherford Watson Manns William Mann. We won an urban housing project through the Bouwmeester
back in 2003. Its taken 12 years to deliver, but were grateful for the opportunity, and theyve got good work out of us.
The Bouwmeester is a position awarded on a ve-year basis and currently held by Peter Swinnen, founder of the celebrated
Brussels-based practice 51n4e. However, to widespread outrage from architects, politicians and local authorities, Flanders
newly elected coalition government recently announced its intention to terminate the Bouwmeesters post while stripping his
ofce of its current political autonomy.
The coalition is dominated by the New Flemish Alliance, a party committed to the cause of full Flemish independence and
the reduction of state infrastructure. Its current proposal is that the Bouwmeesters department will be subsumed within the
Ministry of Spatial Planning while the functions of the post itself will be divided between a committee of ve part-time
appointments. The government has yet to make a statement outlining its reasons for the change, and declined to comment for
the purposes of this article.
However, it has claimed that the new committee - which will be assembled from representatives of a range of industry
bodies - will continue to full the Bouwmeesters brief.
The Flemish architecture community has a very different view, seeing the move as a retrograde step motivated by a desire to
reduce expenditure and relieve local authorities of centralised interference - a scenario echoing the downgrading of CABEs
powers in the UK. The proposal has been the subject of almost daily coverage in national newspapers over the past month
and has given rise to a petition of protest, which has drawn more than 5,000 signatures.
It is true that Peter Swinnens tenure has not passed without controversy. A number of Belgiums more commercially-
oriented practices have accused him of favouritism towards smaller local and foreign rms - an argument that would
doubtless nd a sympathetic audience from the free-market New Flemish Alliance. Yet public institutions are not required to
employ the services of the Bouwmeesters department and he has no power to impose his choice of architect on them. At the
very least, the system is more transparent than the procurement culture that held sway prior to the establishment of the
Bouwmeesters role - when local politicians simply doled out work to whichever local rm they happened to know.
Accusations that the system represents an unwarranted layer of bureaucracy are also hard to make stick. One reason why it
has proved attractive to British architects is that it demands considerably less time and money than competitive procedures
in the UK. Every six months, the Bouwmeester issues notice of forthcoming competitions and invites architects to identify
those for which they would like to be considered. However many competitions they choose to apply for, they are only
required to submit one portfolio. The Bouwmeester and the client then typically agree a shortlist of ve rms - often two
local practices with experience of the relevant sector, two younger local rms and a foreign one.
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Once youre shortlisted you get a sensible time and a respectable fee to do your proposal, explains William Mann. Its
respectful of the architects time - and from what Ive seen that also serves the client very well.
The procurement culture that the Bouwmeester has overseen over the past 15 years has seen Flanders gain a worldwide
reputation for the quality of its architecture, and has also played a vital role in enabling the development of a generation of
British architects. All of this now seems to be at stake because of the latest government proposals.
The petition arguing for the protection of the Vlaams Bouwmeesters position can be signed here.
A new housing and social centre scheme in Aarschot by DRDH
Stephen Bates, senior partner, Sergison Bates
The Bouwmeester has been so important in raising the quality of architecture in Belgium and given opportunities for young
architects to build public work. Many of the architects from Belgium [which have made the UK press] have all earned their
reputation on these projects. It is an exemplar for procuring architecture and exposing public clients to the great benets of
commissioning good architects.
Weve been very lucky in winning signicant commissions [in Flanders] and currently have three live projects running - all
of which were won through the Open Call. The Blankenberge City Library and the old peoples home in Huise were won
and realised through the process during the period of [previous Bouwmeester] Bob Van Reeth.
Daniel Rosbottom, co-director, DRDH Architects
The power of the Open Call process is that it invites aspiration and qualitative judgements when applying for projects. It is
weighted to produce shortlists that include both young and international architects as well as collaborations, alongside more
established Belgian practices.
The ofce of the Bouwmeester establishes quality thresholds not only in the design of buildings but also their procurement
process, fostering the relationship between architect and client.
The result is a system that has signicantly contributed to what is arguably the most interesting building culture in Europe.
The system has allowed us to work at scales and on social and civic programmes that would have been inaccessible to us in
the UK.
Tony Fretton of Tony Fretton Architects
The Flemish Open Call was a model of how to build a relationship between Clients and Architects, how to plan
development lucidly and how to make good architecture the norm. Its reduction is a very retrograde step.
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Governments need to learn that consistent long term, rule based planning produces better results than unguided market
forces.
Tony Fretton Architects Deinze town hall scheme in Belgium
Ian Simpson of Ian Simpson Architects
The Open Call process has been a very successful way of seeking architects and their design teams to produce high quality
design solutions for publicly funded projects. From an architectural perspective, its more successful than the traditional
PQQ process which involves a lot of box ticking.
We had no experience of designing a large concert hall
We were able to win the competition against a very strong list of architects, who were all selected on the basis of their
design concepts and strength of team. This then went through to a second stage; a design competition, for which all six
parties were paid to compete. We were able to win this despite having had virtually no experience of designing a
large-scale concert hall. We worked closely with the Antwerp City Architect Kristiaan Borret who, following the change
in political governance in Antwerp, was removed from his post and is yet to be replaced.

Strong architectural leadership at a political level has been fundamental to Antwerp becoming a centre for good quality
design and engaging the input of leading international architects. This has offered us a new benchmark in how we should
procure publicly funded buildings.
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Tweet Tweet 4
Ian Simpson Architects overhaul of the Queen Elisabeth Hall in Antwerp,
home of the Royal Flemish Philharmonic Orchestra - the project was
secured through a competition organised in response to the Open Call
procedure.

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