Panel session
The VAi and PAF (Platform for Architecture & Feminism) are organizing a series of four roundtable discussions to coincide with the exhibition Unfolding the Archives #9 Feminist Perspectives 1980-1990. The exhibition shines a spotlight on the networks surrounding the 1984 symposium Wonen en woonomgeving vanuit vrouwen bekeken [Housing and the living environment from a women’s perspective] and the former Vrouwen en Wonen [Women and Housing] working group. On 8 May, we continue the conversation. This time, we explore activism as a practice in dialogue with Leen De Becker and Sophia Holst.
In a series of morning sessions, Evelien Pieters (PAF) enters into conversation with feminist voices from the 1980s–1990s as well as with contemporary designers, researchers, and activists. The discussions start from archival materials, experiences, and practices. Rather than looking back, they extend feminist thinking and doing in architecture and the built environment. The roundtable discussions are moments of encounter and reflection, serving as a way to build a living memory on which new design practices can continue to grow.
In this session, we explore activism not as a temporary action, but as an ongoing methodology within design practice. The central question is how spatial interventions, political engagement, and social justice are intertwined in the city.
We begin with the career of Leen De Becker, who, from the 1980s onwards, combined her work as an interior architect with feminist education and urban activism – from public housing projects in Nicaragua to action networks in Brussels and Antwerp. Her many years of experience form the basis for a conversation with architect-researcher Sophia Holst, a Brussels-based architect who investigates social mechanisms in the city and critically examines the use – and misuse – of space and architecture.
Leen De Becker (b. 1957), an interior architect, was already active as a student at Vluchthuis Mechelen, a shelter for women fleeing domestic violence. Through her involvement in the broader feminist-socialist movement, she participated in several activities of the Vrouwen en Wonen working group. Later, she worked on housing projects in Nicaragua and was active as a community worker at BRAL in Brussels and at the Regional Institute for Urban Development in Antwerp.
Sophia Holst (b. 1988) is an architect-researcher active in Belgium and the Netherlands. She gained experience at practices such as Studio Anne Holtrop and NU architectuuratelier, and is currently developing her own independent practice. Within this work, she brings together critical urban theory and applied design in an ongoing investigation of the social mechanisms shaping the city.
EXHIBITION
Feminist Perspectives 1980 - 1990 looks back at Flanders in the 1980s, when the struggle for gender equality also reached the architecture sector. Delve into the archives of the Vrouwen en Wonen working group and discover these links for yourself.
03.04.2026 - 28.06.2026
DE SINGEL (Expozaal), Antwerp
29.05.2026
10:00h — Welcome & coffee
10:30h — Start roundtable
12:00h — Roundup discussion & reflection
12:30h — End
DE SINGEL (Exhibition Hall)
Desguinlei 25
2018 Antwerp
The roundtable discussion will be held in Dutch.
Free of charge, upon registration
Limited seating
Register via the online form
24.04.2026 #1 Craftwomenship. Ticket(s) & info
08.05.2026 #2 Public Space. Ticket(s) & info
12.06.2026 #4 Women's movement. Ticket(s) & info
PAF (Platform voor Architectuur & Feminisme) x Flanders Architecture Institute (VAi)
the Government of Flanders
The main address of the Flanders Architecture Institute is located in De Singel International Arts Campus, next to the R1. From the main entrance on the Desguinlei follow the signs to Beel Laag (± 3 minutes on foot).
There are spaces reserved for wheelchair users in all halls of DE SINGEL. Please contact us in advance at tickets@desingel.be so that we can reserve a space for you. You can use an elevator to reach the halls. Enter through the main entrance of DE SINGEL and make your way down the ramp to the left of the stairs to take the lift. Read more about the accessibility
You can store your coat, handbag or backpack in the free lockers available at DE SINGEL. These are located in two places: in the locker area under the stairs at the main entrance via Desguinlei, and at the Theatre Square in Beel Laag. Instructions on how to use the lockers can be found on the side of the locker column.
