Shortlist Bekaert Prize for Architectural Criticism 2025

The nominated articles for the fourth edition of the Geert Bekaert Prize 2025 are….

The Geert Bekaert Prize for Architectural Criticism was established by Archined to celebrate design criticism and to stimulate the art of design writing. We believe that a reflective design practice is of existential importance to the professional community. The first edition of the Geert Bekaert Prize took place in 2013, followed by one in 2016 and in 2019. For the 2025 edition, we are collaborating with OASE. An open call was launched. The texts could be new or previously published, written in Dutch or English, but no longer than 1,500 words, and written after January 1, 2022.

We were overwhelmed by the number of submissions: 81! Over the past few months, the jury of the Geert Bekaert Prize has dedicated itself to the submitted texts. It met twice. The texts served as the basis for discussions in which the content, form, and position of architectural criticism took center stage.

From 81 submissions, the jury has selected five texts for the shortlist of the 2025 Geert Bekaert Prize—texts which, for various reasons, it believes occupy a special position within the current debate.

The 2025 Bekaert jury consists of Violette Schönberger (architect, writer, lecturer, and winner of the 2019 Geert Bekaert Prize), Mechthild Stuhlmacher (architect at Korteknie Stuhlmacher Architecten and lecturer at TU Berlin and KU Leuven), Tom Vandeputte (studied architecture and is head of the Critical Studies department at the Sandberg Institute), and Vincent van Velsen (architectural historian, curator, and (art) critic). They nominated the following texts (in alphabetical order):

Alles van waarde – Sereh Mandias. A critique that questions the architectural ambitions behind the renovation plans for Museum Boijmans van Beuningen.
Architecture: your friend or your foe? – Kaj Zwerver. A call for design activism in the form of ‘friendly architecture’ to help the homeless, with a reference to the De Krook city library in Ghent.
Moeder, dat bouwen wij! – Dimitri Minten and Tim Vekemans. A call to architects to position themselves as ‘spatial care providers’, thereby contributing to a systemic change where building is not the right answer.
Ouwe starchitects – Marjolein van Eig. A column prompted by the choice of architects for the expansion of the Kröller-Müller Museum and how this stands in the way of renewal.
Verloren in vertalen; tussen ambacht en ambience – Margit van Schaik. An opinion piece on the apparent conflict between architectural design and societal ambition.

Info

The selected texts will be presented during the Archined Critics Night. Subsequently, the jury will announce the winner(s). The project is co-funded by the Creative Industries Fund.

Archined Critics Night
June 6, 7:00 PM (doors open at 6:30 PM)
Location: Independent School for the City, Robert Fruinstraat 52, Rotterdam
Tickets at € 5 are available via this link.