The cultural heritage of design does not consist only of sketches, models, photographs or correspondence of designers. With design, there is also a strong interaction between explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge, knowledge that may be passed on but which usually does not receive written expression. That is why the Flemish Architecture Institute conducted interviews with designers, policy makers and craftspeople. As a result, the interviews do not all cover the same topics and time periods. A mix of young and old and of profession was chosen; furniture maker, artist, design connoisseur and director of Design Flanders all have their say.

The following people were interviewed:

• Leonce Dekeijser (1924-2015), interior architect, he explains that in his college days, “interior design” did not actually exist. He took courses with architects and decorative arts and eventually earned a degree in furniture art. He discusses the teaching methods, the subjects and his teachers. He talks about the interaction between design and education

• José Vanderlinden (1920-?), furniture maker, the emphasis in the conversation with José Vanderlinden is, much more than in the conversation with Leonce Dekeijser, on the technical aspects of furniture making.

• Luc (1953-now) and Katrien Mestdagh (1980-now), stained glass artists, the conversation includes the neo-Gothic tradition in Ghent in terms of stained glass painting, and how it lives on to this day in atelier Mestdagh. They discuss the need for commissioning.
• Achiel Pauwels (1932-now), ceramist, he talks about how he learned the craft, how the teachers did not always give away the secrets of the craft just like that, and what the relationship was with the other art craft courses and the sculpture course. The conversation also explores the emphases he placed in his own classes and the importance he attached to drawing in doing so.
• Moniek Bucquoye (1948-2022), connoisseur and promoter of design, the talk provides an insight into how product development education was shaped in Flanders from a historical perspective. She highlights the difference between product development and industrial design.
• Lieven Daenens (1948-now), former director of the Design museum Ghent. Daenens discusses the evolution of the museum, its change of name and position with the advent of the museum decree in the 1990s. He discusses the quality of Belgian design culture and education in Belgium.
• Johan Valcke (1952-now), director of Design Flanders, the conversation with Valcke gives an insight into how art crafts and design were viewed in Belgium and Flanders from an economic point of view and a historical perspective.

The four interviewers were art historians and artists: Katarina Serulu, Marieke Pauwels, Eva Van Regenmortel and Aletta Rambaut

On the occasion of the Stynen 2018 project, the Flemish Architecture Institute (VAi) conducted five interviews with family members, colleagues and clients of Léon Stynen that give us a unique insight into the architect’s life and work.

You will find a brief summary of each interview below. If you would like to access the full interview, please complete the request form.

• Herman Van der Wee
• Anne Stynen
• Lucien Jacques Baucher
• Paul Meekels
• Constantin Brodzki

The cultural heritage of design consists not only of sketches, models, photographs or correspondence of designers. With design, there is also a strong interplay between explicit knowledge and unconscious knowledge, knowledge that may be passed on but which usually does not receive written expression. That is why the Flemish Architecture Institute conducted interviews with designers, policy-makers and craftspeople.

For each of the seven interviews, you will find a short summary and brief biographical information of the interviewee on the website. If you would like to consult the full interview, please fill in the request form.

• Leonce Dekeijse
• José Vanderlinden
• Luc en Katrien Mestdagh
• Achiel Pauwels
• Moniek Bucquoye
• Lieven Daenens
• Johan Valcke

The Flemish Architecture Institute (VAi), as part of the project Fifty years of urban planning law, conducted eight interviews with key witnesses of urban planning development and handling of landscape during the past half century.

For each of the eight interviews, you will find a short summary and brief biographical information of the interviewee on the site of the Flemish Architecture Institute.

• Jef Van den Broeck
• Herman Baeyens
• Bob Cools
• Georges Allaert
• Herman Rosseau
• Louis Albrechts
• Evert Lagrou
• Karel Debaere en Bert Vanbelle