Between resistance and resilience. 'Le traditionnel évolué' and the dialectics of construction in Belgium in the 1950s

This lecture was presented at the workshop “Reconsidering Construction History” (Bochum), where it explored how post-war Belgian construction culture challenges the conventional divide between “traditional” and “industrial” building. Drawing on various sources, the talk examined the hybrid practices that shaped building sites between the 1950s and 1970s—practices in which craftsmanship, improvisation, mechanisation and new organisational logics were deeply intertwined.

The lecture introduced the notion of le traditionnel évolué, a concept that highlights how builders adopted new tools, techniques and prefabricated components while simultaneously relying on embodied knowledge and long-standing routines. Rather than a linear shift from tradition to innovation, the Belgian case reveals a far more entangled evolution of labour, technology and construction management.

By revisiting these overlooked forms of expertise, the talk argued for a broader construction history—one that foregrounds the agency of builders and the hybrid, evolving knowledge that shaped post-war construction culture. A written version of the talk will appear in the workshop proceedings.