bma

In 2009, the government of the Brussels-Capital Region established a bouwmeester to oversee procurements with the aim of guaranteeing the architectural and landscape quality of public projects. Olivier Bastin was appointed as the first bouwmeester maître architecte for a period of five years. These first five years were an opportunity to set out the basic principles of BMA’s work, essentially focusing on procedures for competitions and the appointment of lead architects. BMA thus established ground rules for what a good public procurement process should look like: the three fundamentals of a clear programme, a correct procedure and a well-assembled review board became the key formula for an effective and efficient procurement process.

In 2015, the torch was passed on to Kristiaan Borret. Building on the work of his predecessor, he made it his mission to implement the principles which had already been laid down, and to develop a range of tools which are still in use today. The scope of BMA’s work has been widened to include more competitions, procedures, clients and missions. No longer limited to public projects, BMA’s remit now also extends to private projects, which play an important part in the urban development of the Brussels region. Tools put in place that are still used today include competitions, research by design and the Quality Chamber, which has now become the Project Meeting.

Kristiaan Borret was appointed for a second term in 2020, which began with the organisation of a peer review, an internal investigation into the operations of BMA.  The office of the bouwmeester still relies on tools put in place during the previous mandate, with greater openness towards civil society and an unflinching focus on environmental issues.

The bouwmeester maître architecte is selected through an open recruitment process and is appointed for a five-year term. The mandate is set directly by the government but the position is independent. BMA is housed within the perspective.brussels administration and works transversally across all bodies and departments involved in the urban development of Brussels on a federal, local and regional level. At the level of the Brussels Capital Region, there is regular cooperation with urban.brussels, perspective.brussels, Bruxelles Environnement, Bruxelles Mobility, BGHM, MSI, Citydev, CLTB, …., among others.

In his statement of intent for the current man­date of bouwmeester maître architecte Kristiaan Borret suggested organising a ‘Visitatie’. The term, drawn from academic practices, has been inter­preted here as a collective reflection on the func­tion of BMA with the ambition of placing the function in its context, and drawing up suggestions for recommendations. You will find below the summary report as well as the detailed version.

Fabienne Lontie
Ann De Cannière
Sophie Gérard
Ben Dirickx
Maarten Dieryck
Colm Mac Aoidh
Simona Paplauskaite
Tony Van Nuffelen
Susanne Breuer
Stéphane Massagé
Tiffany Hernalsteen
Véronique Del Turco
Ariane Herman

Lisa Léonard
Lorène Morenval
Lukáš Houser
Pelle Darras
Anas Moutaouakil
Julian Rickenbacher
Anne-Sophie Van Helder