&bogdan

&bogdan, the Brussels-based practice known as BOGDAN & VAN BROECK from 2007 to 2022, is a research-oriented architectural practice with a high social commitment, actively involved in the public debate on spatial quality and awareness. With their multicultural and multidisciplinary team, they strive to add meaningful value to society. Their portfolio includes feasibility studies, architectural projects, urban designs, consultancy assignments, and a wide range of programmes, including housing, schools, business parks, offices, public and cultural buildings. In their projects, they design the spatial conditions for collective living and regenerative development. They see designing the spatial environment as an act of co-creation involving society, communities, politics, economics and technology, rather than as a solitary act of creativity.

Oana Bogdan is the founder of &bogdan. Joining forces with others and democratic leadership are central to her vision. Bogdan’s problem-solving mentality and cooperative ethos come together to create spatial conditions for collective life and to anchor the work of &bogdan in the ongoing public debate. In doing so, she questions the traditional role of the architect, believing that the profession’s skills can be used to navigate the complexity of many areas of life. Embracing this ability to translate to other contexts, she took on, among others, the role of state secretary for cultural heritage in Romania’s technocratic government (2016-2017), chairwoman of the ‘Good Living’ expert committee in charge of Brussels Region Building Code’s Reform (2021-2022), and jury president of Rotterdam Architecture Prize 2021. Since 2023, she has been chairwoman of the Netherlands Creative Industries Fund committee for architecture and board member of the Flemish Architecture Institute (VAi).