Our social housing project in Beerse for Bouwmaatschappij De Noorderkempen is featured in the publication Toolbox Dorpse Architectuur (Public Space & AR-TUR, 2021, ed. Ward Verbakel, Edith Wouters, Evelien Pieters, Bart Biermans and Joeri De Bruyn), which highlights a series of exemplary village densification projects. The project is praised for its careful integration within the rural fabric. Its architecture flirts with the building line: façades subtly shift forward and back, creating intermediate zones that soften the boundary between public and private. These gentle displacements establish rhythm, breathing space and human scale, anchoring the ensemble in the everyday life of the village.

In the podcast series The Joy of Architecture, Tine Vliegen interviews Chris Eeraerts, co-founder and director of Areal Architecten, about the interplay between life and work. The office, known for its socially engaged projects—schools, care centres, and social housing—approaches architecture as a form of public responsibility. Each design considers its impact on public space and its capacity to endure over time. For Areal, sustainability extends beyond technology; it lies in adaptability and renewal. Architecture is understood not as a finished object, but as an open process of care, context, and continuity, grounded in the evolving fabric of society.

Primary School and Community Sports Hall Het Laerhof in Merksem is featured in The Architecture Book Flanders N°14 as an exemplary case of high-quality school architecture. In their essay “Calm, Space and Rhythm: Four Recent Flemish Schools Seen Through Dutch Eyes”, Wilma Kempinga and Tjeerd Wessel of Stichting Mevrouw Meijer reflect on how the project achieves a harmonious balance between structure and freedom, collectivity and intimacy. Designed as an open learning landscape interwoven with the neighbourhood, the school illustrates how architectural precision and pedagogical vision converge—a place where architecture creates calm, organises space, and shapes rhythm for a future-oriented education.

Our project for BLIK Primary School was featured on AFASIA archzine. BLIK is among the first schools in Flanders to adopt an innovative, cross-age pedagogical concept. Within this forward-thinking educational model, we were able to design a spatial framework that acts as a catalyst for experimentation and encounter. The architecture does not merely accommodate learning but embodies pedagogy itself—open, flexible, and interconnected. The project represents a continuous cross-pollination between architecture and education, where space and learning reinforce one another, positioning the school as a laboratory for future-oriented learning.

Freinetschool De kRing is featured in A+272 in a compelling editorial article. The school has meanwhile claimed its place within the ring culture of Antwerp’s inner belt, embodying an architecture that is both rooted and open. The publication not only highlights the building itself but also reflects on the landscape design of the adjacent green playground, which extends the school’s spatial and pedagogical vision into its surroundings. The project — a synthesis of learning, play, and urban context — occupies the centrefold of the issue, captured in all its architectural clarity and generosity.

For the exhibition “FOUTLOOS” at the Old Courthouse in Hasselt, with scenography by de ARCHITECTENHUISKAMER, Areal Architecten presents a reflection on the delicate boundary between perfection and imperfection in architecture. Through two carefully selected construction photographs, the practice reveals the tension between control and contingency, between the intention of design and the reality of building. Areal demonstrates how architectural precision and material resistance coexist and enrich one another. “FOUTLOOS” exposes that the true beauty of architecture lies not in flawlessness, but in the capacity to transform error and accident into spatial poetry.

The Weekend Knack issue of October 5, 2019 highlighted the exhibition “Back to School” at the VAi, deSingel Antwerp, open to visitors from October 24, 2019. The exhibition explores whether Flemish schools are ready for the future, showcasing a selection of innovative educational buildings, including Laerhof Primary School by Areal Architecten. It illustrates how typological renewal and architectural precision contribute to the integration of schools within the urban and village fabric. Education thus emerges as both a spatial and social catalyst, with the school evolving from a mere infrastructure into an open, collective environment for learning and living together.

In Dimension no. 52, a feature on Areal Architecten highlights the firm’s expertise in crafting contemporary learning environments. Two projects — Deuzeldpark Primary School in Schoten and Freinet School De kRing in Berchem — are presented as variations on a shared theme: learning as a spatial experience. Despite their differing contexts, both schools reveal a sensitivity to light, tactility, and collective space. The article illustrates how Areal’s architecture balances function and poetry, translating pedagogy into form. The cover features the polyvalent greenhouse structure of Deuzeldpark, a luminous and generous space where education and nature seamlessly converge.

The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture profiled thirteen leading Belgian practices, including Areal Architecten, as part of a broader reflection on contemporary architectural culture. Four students visited our office in the Groen Kwartier in Berchem for a conversation with Thomas Cols and Chris Eeraerts, focusing on Freinet School De kRing. Their insightful analysis explored how pedagogy and spatial design intertwine to create a collective learning environment. The visit reflected an open dialogue between generations and contexts, and an increasing international appreciation for an architecture that transforms the everyday into a subtle expression of urban civility.

Boom Park Primary School was prominently featured in Plan Magazine 04/2017, among thirty leading Belgian projects highlighting contemporary school architecture. Completed in 2015 as one of the first DBFM Schools of Tomorrow projects, the building establishes a measured dialogue between openness and intimacy. Commissioned by the Flemish Ministry of Education, the campus was expanded with a kindergarten, additional primary classrooms, a multipurpose hall, and a refectory. The architecture is defined by its rational composition, tactile materiality, and harmonious relationship with the surrounding park landscape. Boom Park emerges as a learning environment of civic generosity, where space, light, and collectivity shape the educational experience.

In the Open Door column of Sabato, the weekend supplement of De Tijd, House E-M and its residents Barbara Morisse and Chris Eeraerts are portrayed in depth. Through a carefully composed scene in the dining room, the article reveals an intimate narrative of living, working, and collecting. Their passion for vintage design, craftsmanship, and timeless materials resonates in every detail, with architecture serving as the framework for everyday life. The house exudes calm and refinement, balancing functionality with emotion. In Thijs Demeulemeester’s conversation and Tim Van de Velde’s photography, domestic life becomes a form of cultural expression — poetic, precise, and profoundly personal.

Boom Park Primary School was selected for the international exhibition “Architecture of Necessity” at the Virserum Konsthall in Sweden, where only thirty projects were chosen from hundreds of entries across more than forty countries. Supported by the Municipality of Hultsfred and the Regional Federation of Kalmar County, the exhibition explores architecture that unites necessity with social relevance. Boom Park embodies this ethos through its rational composition, sustainable materiality, and social generosity. More than a school, it serves as a public space for encounter, where architecture elevates the everyday into a meaningful, collective experience of learning and community.

Care Campus Mayerhof was prominently featured in Plan Magazine 02/2015, among thirty leading Belgian projects that reflect the country’s contemporary architectural production. Completed in 2013, the project marked the beginning of our healthcare portfolio. Within an existing urban block in Mortsel, an integrated and sustainable care campus was conceived, merging a nursing home and assisted living units into a coherent whole. The architecture combines functional clarity with spatial generosity, intertwining care and living within an open, collective framework. Today, Mayerhof stands as a recognizable landmark in the city — an architecture of proximity and continuity, embedded in the everyday lives of its residents and neighbours.

House E-M is extensively featured in Townhouse Design, published by the Swiss house Braun Publishing, a renowned reference in international architectural publishing. The book assembles outstanding examples of urban living and working, each rooted in its specific regional context. Among a selection of diverse international practices, House E-M is accompanied by an editorial piece highlighting its typological refinement, material tactility, and contextual sensitivity. Its inclusion affirms the relevance of modest urban architecture within a global architectural discourse. It is gratifying to see this project — grounded in the everyday — acknowledged within a broader international field of design and reflection.

The split-level House DV in Wilrijk is featured in Our House in the City, published by the New York–based house Gestalten, which brings together international examples of urban living. The project distinguishes itself through its layered spatial composition, tactile materiality, and balanced expression within a context of typical Flemish ribbon development. Subtle shifts in levels and sightlines create a continuous spatial narrative that reconciles intimacy and openness. The house embodies a precise dialogue between scale and experience, between private and public, illustrating how architectural clarity and restraint can elevate the everyday into a poetic expression of contemporary living.