Research
"Above and Beyond Construction History" sets up a dialogue between Construction History and Colonial History, Legal History and Planning History, to actively expand the field's disciplinary boundaries. Through explorations of themes, methods and actors, that were until now beyond the interest of the field, this research project propels an extended understanding of what consitutes construction — and thereby its history. read more
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Legal Track
Colonial Track
Planning Track
Crossroads
Expertise
Labour
Technology
Internationalization
Materials
Reading the archive
Oral history
Field work
Digital humanities
Construction worker
Architect
Contractor
Engineer
Client
Building material producer
Book Chapters
Journal Articles
Conference Contributions
Blog Posts
The legal track analyzes the impact and implementation of law and legal expertise on building sites.
The colonial track investigates how building typologies, technologies, and materials were integral to the extractive logics of the political project of (Belgian) colonialism.
The planning track studies the coevolution of cities and the construction industries that build them. How do cities construct the conditions of their own making.
Building methodological and thematic bridges towards other (unexpected) disciplines, Crossroads texts are actively trying to expand the boundaries of what is considered construction history.
Dave de Ruysscher is professor of legal history; he coordinates the legal track. His research addresses informal rules in history, such as customs and practices.
Igor Bloch is the doctoral researcher in the colonial track. His research focuses on the urban housing question during the implementation of the ‘Plan décennal du Congo belge’ (1949-1959).
Ine Wouters is professor in construction history. She co-supervises research in the colonial track (PhD) and the urban planning track (post-doc).
Johan Lagae is professor of architectural history; he coordinates the colonial track. His research addresses (post)colonial architecture and urbanization processes in Central Africa.
Laurence Heindryckx is the postdoc researcher situated in the center of the project. She researches ways to develop, formulate and publish the shared questions and outcomes of the different dialogues.
Louis Debersaques is the doctoral researcher in the legal track. His research focuses on judicial expertise and normative practice in construction litigation against building actors (1890-1970).
Michiel Dehaene is professor in Urbanism. He supervises research in the Planning Track.
Rika Devos is professor in construction history, principal investigator for the ULB team and spokesperson for this project. She co-supervises research in the urban (PhD) and legal (postdoc) tracks.
Robby Fivez is the postdoc researcher in the colonial track. His research focuses on the exploitation of ‘cheap labour’ and ‘cheap nature’ in the construction industry of the Belgian Congo.
Simon De Nys-Ketels is the postdoc researcher of the legal track. His research traces processes of professionalization and juridification of various occupational categories in Belgium’s construction sector.
Stephanie Van de Voorde is professor in construction history, principal investigator for the VUB team. She co-supervises research in the legal track (PhD), colonial track (post-doc) and construction history (post-doc).
Tom Broes is the postdoc researcher of the planning track. His research reconstructs the nexus between urbanization policies, material industries, and construction labor in the Belgian context.