Two bouwmeesters, three mandates… the role of bouwmeester maitre architecte (BMA) has existed in Brussels for over 10 years now. Some very good things have emerged since the role was created, yet there are also some points to be improved on or reworked. Because it is important to continue to ensure that the role evolves, the BMA has proposed, in its letter of intent published at the beginning of the mandate, to organise a “peer review”. The proposal was born from the desire expressed by BMA to open up more to civil society in the years to come. The latest “Open Juries”, where citizens were invited to attend award committee meetings, encourage us to continue the process to open up, with other initiatives coming soon.
The “peer review” means more specifically that, over the next few months, a team will delve into tools, documents, tables and notes produced for over ten years now at BMA. On basis of this input, the peer review teams will subsequently be meeting, talking and debating with different BMA stakeholders. This research and these meetings seek to: produce a series of recommendations for the future to improve the practices of BMA and its team, improve the follow-up of project and further increase transparency.
The team must comprise an arciitect or urban planner, a person with experience in organisational support (consulting organisation), an internationally renowned expert in advising on quality in the field of urban planning and architecture and a bilingual project manager (Dutch and French).
The mission will be conducted in three phases.
- Phase 1: Research and analysis based on the documents provided by BMA;
- Phase 2: Consultation and discussion with BMA stakeholders (including politicians, public institutions, designers, clients, civil society);
- Phase 3: Report and production of recommendations.
An opportunity to contribute towards improving architectural and urban planning quality in the Brussels region.