Louis Roelandt. Archive of an architect

This page is part of our exhibition archive. The exhibition took place from 15-10-2018 to 10-11-2018

Louis Roelandt (1786-1864) designed and built iconic 19th-century architectural projects in Ghent such as the university Aula Academica, the courthouse and theatre. In addition to his career as Ghent city architect, Roelandt ran a large private architecture office, was professor at the Local Academy of Fine Arts and at the university’s École du Génie Civil. Both as designer and academic, Roelandt was a key figure in the development of architecture in Belgium during the first half of the 19th century.

The exhibition Louis Roelandt. Archives of an architect presents around fifty drawings from the architect’s vast personal archives, preserved in the collection of the Ghent university, along with several scale models. The exhibition illustrates the vast scope of Roelandt’s body of works, zooming in on iconic project such as the Aula Academica, Antwerp Entrepôt Royal, Ghent church of St. Anne and a design of a monument in honour of the battle at Waterloo in London. Presenting sketches and preliminary drawings, the exhibition illustrates the process of architectural design in the 19th century.

Curator: dr. Pieter-Jan Cierkens in collaboration with master’s students engineer-architect of Ghent university.