It is necessary to investigate the contemporary possibility of an architecture that defines itself in relation to the modification of the existing city in order to trace a new design attitude that looks to the recovery and refurbishment of the existing, rather than its demolition, using strategies that consider the changing conditions of the social-economic panorama and the climate crisis. The starting point is the design experience of the French context, which has also influenced the most recent developments in Flemish architecture. A new generation of architects works by fully engaging with the reality and confronting the everyday life; the result is the definition of an architecture that seeks simplicity in compliance with the “economy of means”, a principle dear to the post-capitalist generation, placing the accent on the structure – often left exposed – and on the uses it is able to accommodate. Flexibility is one of the key words to understand a new approach to reality which, by its protagonists’ own admission, has its roots in the practice of the group of French architects Lacaton&Vassal. Committed to questioning the practice of demolition and guided by the imperative “always add, never demolish”, they represent a starting point of considerable interest to understand the design approaches developed by contemporary architects, who can, by 19researching their reasons and results, define a new approach to the project of the existing.
