Talks
The Flanders Architecture Institute (VAi) and art centre Het Bos host three evenings on the environmental dimensions of genocide. We explore why and how genocidal violence targets not just people but also their landscapes, homes and cities. On the final evening, we join Léopold Lambert (The Funambulist) to reflect on urbicide: the destruction of cities and urban culture — and how to how to reinstate it.
Over the course of one month, together with moderator Janno Martens, we engage in dialogue with five guests, share food, and watch video work by international artists.
For our final evening of the -cide series, we welcome Léopold Lambert to Antwerp.
Léopold is founder and editor-in-chief of The Funambulist, a platform that engages with the politics of space and bodies. Through his notion of ‘bulldozer politics’, he will reflect on the long history of urbicide both in the Palestinian occupied territories and abroad by highlighting how the destruction of urban fabrics target not just its physical architecture but also destroys cultural, social, familial and educational systems as well as histories and memories.
Léopold Lambert is a Paris-based trained architect and the editor-in-chief of The Funambulist, a print and online trilingual magazine dedicated to the politics of space and bodies and the cultivation of internationalist solidarities. He is also the author of four books analyzing architecture's complicity with settler colonialism, including Weaponized Architecture (2012), Bulldozer Politics (2016), and States of Emergency: A Spatial History of the French Colonial Continuum (2021).
Between 18:00h and 20:00h, the Boskeuken serves food prepared by chef Nour, a Palestinian refugee from Lebanon.
“Every dish I prepare carries a part of my identity and the culture I come from. Through my food, I hope to share a taste of our history — a history rich with warmth, stories, and delicious recipes passed down through generations. Cooking allows me to honour where I come from and invite others to truly feel and understand the beauty of our heritage.” - chef Nour
The evening will also feature a short video work selected from TICK TACK's Palestine Public Cinema programme, curated by Zayna Al-Saleh
18:00h - 20:00h: the Boskeuken serves Chef Nour's dishes
20:00h - 20:10h: Introduction and video TICK TACK’s Palestine Public Cinema
20:10h - end: Janno Martens in conversation with Léopold Lambert on urbicide.
Het Bos
Ankerrui 5-7
2000 Antwerp
The -cide talks will be presented in English.
Free of admission, registration is required.
Book your ticket(s) via the online registration form.
Check all -cides series dates:
05.02.2026 - ecocide
19.02.2026 - domicide
19.03.2026 - urbicide
Boskeuken’s dishes can be paid for on site (card only, no cash). Meals are served while supplies last, and advance reservations are not available.
Flanders Architecture Institute and Het Bos
the Government of Flanders
