Master dissertation by Marlies Timmermans

Large-scale infrastructural projects do more than reshape cities physically—they transform social life, politics, and urban identity. Yet these profound changes often remain hidden behind technical reports and planning documents. Construction site photography offers a unique and underexplored method to uncover these stories. Far from being mere illustrations of engineering feats, these images capture the city in moments of radical transition: streets torn open, temporary architectures emerging, and everyday life negotiating with disruption. They freeze the “instant of transformation,” making visible the tensions between progress and continuity.

This thesis takes Antwerp’s premetro works (1970–1996) as a case study to demonstrate the potential of this method. Starting from a database of 130 archival photographs, it reconstructs the technological complexity of tunnel construction and the lived experience of a city turned into a vast building site. The research moves beyond engineering history to explore societal debates, political agendas, and citizen resistance—issues often absent in construction history narratives. Through rephotography of key sites, the study also reflects on how these interventions continue to shape urban space today.

By combining visual analysis with archival research, the thesis argues that construction photography is not just documentation but a research instrument. It opens new questions: Who controlled these spaces? How did private interests intersect with public infrastructure? Which scars remain visible in the contemporary city? In doing so, it proposes a promising way to write urban histories—histories that are tactile, visual, and deeply human.