Real Life Brussels maps the contested terrain of Brussels' social housing legacy through architectural, historical, social, and environmental lenses — a curated assembly of voices that refuses easy answers in favour of productive complexity.
About This Book
Brussels shares a challenge common to many European cities: vast social housing estates built in the latter half of the twentieth century are now ageing under shrinking budgets, and the question of what comes next is far from settled. This volume emerged from a series of three talks organised in 2022 by CIVA, KU Leuven, and BMA, held across the city. Rather than proposing solutions, Real Life Brussels assembles contributions, visual surveys, improvised talks, student works, and ongoing projects into a deliberately open-ended dialogue. It resists both the tabula rasa impulse and the lure of novelty, positioning itself instead as a resource for architects, scholars, policymakers, and communities grappling with the long-term stewardship of social housing heritage.
Key Features
- 238 pages of curated contributions, visual surveys, student works, and project documentation
- Edited by Harold Fallon, Nikolaus Hirsch, Sophie Laenen, Frederik Serroen, and Tine Vandepaer
- Published by Spector Books, 2022
What You'll Discover
- How Brussels' post-war social housing expansion created an architectural heritage now strained by budgetary decline and shifting urban policy
- The intersection of architectural, historical, social, and environmental perspectives on housing regeneration — handled as genuinely intertwined rather than parallel disciplines
- Why the book's editorial method — refusing the tabula rasa — is itself an argument about how cities should approach existing built fabric
- The role of academic and institutional collaboration (CIVA, KU Leuven, BMA) in generating cross-sector dialogue on urban housing futures
About the Author
Harold Fallon serves as lead editor of this volume, working alongside co-editors Nikolaus Hirsch, Sophie Laenen, Frederik Serroen, and Tine Vandepaer. [Details available upon request]
Specifications
- Format: Softcover
- Pages: 238
- Dimensions: 10 x 21 cm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9783959058698
- Publisher: Spector Books
- Publication Date: 2022
Perfect For: Architects and urbanists engaged with housing regeneration, researchers in social housing policy and heritage, and practitioners working at the intersection of community, environment, and the built fabric of European cities.