Scratch, scar, score: in shuffle mode

This project involved a joint master’s thesis supervision, in collaboration with Dag Boutsen. The Action Research thesis, conducted by Hanne Van Reusel at the KU Leuven Faculty of Architecture, explored the societal and political relevance of architecture and the position of spatial designers in relation to users of space. It involved an inextricable mix of action, case study, research and design.

The thesis reflects on a complex integrated track of appropriating space and exploring its socio-spatial relevance (scratches) while continuously moving back and forth between informed intuition and factual research (shuffle). It investigates the designer’s role as a transistor, linking and amplifying impulses, building up turning points (score) with social and political empowerment and a timeless, bottom-up design as a legacy (scars).

The work resulted in the ‘Boerenhof-story’, a case study ‘created’ by the student herself, the object of very close observation, included in a process supported by personal reflection. The story is both the work’s start and outcome, shifting between design research and research design.