An examination of immediate and future academic and practice-based methodologies and approaches for the adaptation of extant buildings, places and matter, as a transformative practice for our built, heritage and material cultures. This theme discusses the pedagogic and design-based methodologies that promote reuse first principles and affirm an appreciation of the existing, its reuse, its adapted reuse, and its reconstitution as critical behaviours for the continuity of our built environment.

An examination of the interior as a setting for climate literacy, action and redress, and the role its academics and practitioners play as agents of sustainable design practice. The theme calls for a reset, through explorations of environmental consciousness, applied theory, pedagogic and practice-based strategies and innovative practices that redefine hierarchies of design behaviour. It asks how the interior and its ambassadors answer to UN Sustainable Development Goals and embed them as principles of practice.

An exploration of the role of interiors in creative practice and the creative practice of making interiors, examining the challenges faced and innovative approaches employed in ensuring the continuity and relevance of this valuable creative practice. This theme will explore provocations on the changing landscape of interiors practice and pedagogy, its definitions within creative arts practice, and its profound impact on our collective spatial, cultural and aesthetic sensibilities.

Lionel Devlieger, co-founder of Rotor in 2005 and Associate Professor at Ghent University, is a pioneering figure in material culture. Combining his extensive experience, he develops critical positions through practice and academic research, Lionel advocates for the integration of reuse and circularity in building.

Rotor, the acclaimed Belgian cooperative design practice, is internationally recognised for its ground-breaking work in material reuse and circular design principles. Through innovative research projects, exhibitions, conferences, and publications, Rotor not only fosters debate but also challenges conventional approaches to waste and obsolescence in the construction sector. Rotor undertakes interior projects crafted around reclaimed elements to develop projects as a bespoke answer to client needs.

Lionel's influence extends beyond his roles at Rotor and UGhent, teaching at universities across Europe and the US, including UC Berkeley, TU Delft, Columbia University, and the AA School, among others. In 2018, he co-authored "Deconstruction et Réemploi," the influential textbook on building component reuse (EPFL Press), and co-authored Ad Hoc Baroque, Marcel Raymaekers’ Salvage Architecture in Poswar Belgium, published by Rotor in December 2023.

With a commitment to reshaping the discourse on resources, waste, and urban mining in the construction sector, Lionel Devlieger and Rotor continue to lead the way towards a more sustainable and resilient built environment.

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