Seeing Gent

The International Masters at KU Leuven draws students from all over the world to study on its English language course. Part of the attraction is the opportunity to study in Gent, a beautiful historic city famed for its architecture. Much remains of the medieval city that is characterised by tightly packed window-wall façades. In devising the Building Technology Workshop, I was keen to focus attention on this extraordinary resource: to closely observe, record and represent how a traditional European city is made. The requirements to draw by hand and make physical models sought to exercise the connection between eye and hand which can be of such great use to architects. The variety of the workshop output is testament to Gent’s heterogeneity and an equally delightful introduction to each student’s way of seeing.