On the 14th of April, KU Leuven organises an international symposium at the Egmont Palace in Brussels in collaboration with TU Eindhoven and the Belgian and Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This symposium sets out to approach Belgian and Dutch embassy buildings as multi-layered projects of representation through a series of thematic sessions bringing together diplomats and officials of the Belgian and Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, architects, artists, interior designers and academic researchers.

For more information on the programme, see the symposium's website http://www.belgiananddutchembassybuildings.be/ .


PRELIMINARY PROGRAMME

9:00-9:30: Welcome and introduction
– Dhr. Peter Moors, Chairman of the Management Committee of the
FPS Foreign Affairs
– Prof. dr. Fredie Floré (KU Leuven) and prof. dr. Anne-Françoise Morel
(KU Leuven)

9:30-11:00: Session 1: The embassy as research topic
Speakers:
– Dr. Denise Hagströmer (National Museum of Art, Architecture and
Design in Oslo)
– Hélène Damen (TU Eindhoven)
– Bram De Maeyer (KU Leuven)

11:00-11:30: Coffee break

11:30-13:00: Session 2: The embassy as patrimony
Speakers:
– Head of Real Estate Abroad of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Jos Mandema
– Official of P&O 5.1. Buildings Abroad

13:00-14:00: Lunch break

14:00-15:00: Session 3: The embassy as architectural assignment
Speakers:
– Architect Sebastian Moreno of A2M who designed the recently
completed Belgian embassy in Kinshasa, Congo.
– Architect Maarten Steenbrink of Royal Haskoning who designed
the recently completed Dutch embassy in Bamako, Mali.

15:00-15:30: Coffee break

15:30-16:30: Session 4: The embassy as interior design assignment
Speakers:
– Interior Designer of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
– Interior Designer of the FPS Foreign Affairs Gaëtane Van Hove

16:30-18:00: Session 5: The embassy as venue for art
– Art curator of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs Philippien Noordam
– Art curator of the FPS Foreign Affairs Ilse Dauwe
– Director of the United Nations Division at the FPS Foreign Affairs Werner Bauwens and visual artist Lieven Lefere

18:00: Closing remarks
Speakers:
– Prof. dr. Bernard Colenbrander (TU Eindhoven)
– Prof. dr. Fredie Floré (KU Leuven)
– Prof. dr. Anne-Françoise Morel (KU Leuven)

18:30: Reception
Closing speech

We kindly invite you to participate in the symposium. Entrance is free, but registration before the 6th of April is mandatory: http://www.belgiananddutchembassybuildings.be/register/