Studio Krucker Bates examines current issues in urban development and housing construction in Europe and beyond. It sees itself as a laboratory in which conventions and traditional ways of working are questioned, while references to history and everyday life and spatial, non-linear design are encouraged. Living is being looked at in a new way. Students are encouraged to explore reference from historical precedents as well as everyday life, to question conventions and traditional ways of thinking about architecture and the spaces we live in.

Established in 1996, Sergison Bates has earned its reputation as one of the most respected practices in Europe by successfully tackling a set of questions which are at once architectural, urban and social on European territory. The projects are based both on a reasoned approach to urban layout, on the experimental potential of materials and construction elements, as well as on special attention to environmental, social and economic issues. An architecture that is both contemporary but also rooted and integrated into its context, at all scales.This approach is most evident in the significant international commissions they are currently working on, among them the transformation of the former Citroën factory into a cultural hub, the Kanal-Centre Pompidou in Brussels, and the creation of a Performing Arts Quarter in Leuven. Both projects exemplify the attitude of the practice to buildings and urban spaces as architectural frameworks that can act as a backdrop for urban life and catalysts for social interaction within the fabric of the European city.Other recently completed Belgian projects include a Care Home in Wingene and the City Library in Blankenberge. Urban renovation work is underway on the Tour & Taxis site in Brussels, the transformation of the ‘Leopoldkazerne’ a disused military barracks in Ghent to accommodate a new administrative headquarters for the East Flanders municipality and a new ‘BREEAM-excellent’ urban housing block on the Eilandje in Antwerp.Committed to a research-based approach supported by the partners’ academic work, the practice has won a number of prestigious awards – among them the Erich Schelling Prize and Heinrich Tessenow Gold Medal for Architecture. The practice maintains close links with its’ Belgian partners and ensures a frequent presence and clear communication with the client which can be undertaken in French, Dutch or English.