International guest lecture: Jan de Vylder

Guest lecture by Jan de Vylder, co-founder of Belgian practice Architecten Jan de Vylder Inge Vinck. Known for projects that engage with transformation and reuse, de Vylder has built an influential body of work that has shaped contemporary discussions on architecture’s relationship to the built environment.

The lecture will present recent projects by the office, including the transformation of the Palais des Expositions in Charleroi, recipient of the 2026 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award. It addresses some of the most pressing questions facing architecture today: how to build with existing resources, how to work within complex urban and social contexts, and how architecture can respond to changing societal needs.

Jan de Vylder is an architect, educator, and co-founder of Architecten Jan de Vylder Inge Vinck / Inge Vinck Jan de Vylder Architecten, a practice based in Brussels and Ghent. Alongside his architectural practice, he is Professor of Architecture at ETH Zurich. The practice’s work has been widely exhibited, published, and recognized internationally. In 2019, the office was awarded the Silver Lion at the Venice Architecture Biennale for the project Unless Ever People, and in 2016 they curated the Belgian Pavilion with the exhibition Bravoure Scarcity Beauty. Most recently, the practice received the Belgian Architecture Excellence Award 2025 in recognition of its overall contribution to architecture.