The Bruges Summer School of Architecture & Crafts
1st to 15th of August 2025
Application deadline⎟15th of March 2025
The Bruges Summer School is a unique place of transmission and learning, a haven for the preservation of knowledge and a centre of excellence in architecture, nourished by the crafts and knowledge of history. The participants will discover the rigour of drawing by hand using the rules of composition. They will exercise their eyes and their judgement on ancient architectural forms and discover their constructive qualities. Using the city of Bruges as a resource, they will get to observe, measure and draw its streets, buildings and constructional elements which over the centuries have made it an inspiring example of a beautiful, humane and durable place to live.
" My experience in the summer architecture course was an enriching adventure that allowed me to explore my passion for building design and construction. I am excited about what the future holds for me in the field of architecture and am grateful for this transformative experience."
Paula Mariscal Romero, BSSAC 2023
Why Bruges?
In Bruges-la-Morte, Georges Rodenbach tells the story of a grieving husband's futile pursuit through the cold streets of a ghoulish city of the memory of his deceased wife. Bruges, in its almost deathlike beauty, is not a mere setting but rather the novel’s protagonist. Rodenbach wrote: ‘Thus, in fact, this Bruges, which so appealed to us, appears almost human... It establishes an ascendancy over those who stay there’.
Since its publication at the end of the 19th century, Bruges-la-Morte has fascinated people from far beyond the borders of Belgium. The first foreign tourists set foot in a city that seemed to have emerged from the depths of time, as if the passing centuries had left no trace on its beauty of another era. People arrive in Bruges searching for the distant echo of the Middle Ages, that deceased bride swept away by the fumes of industry when the final drawbridge was pulled up on feudal Europe... From the time when swarms of English ships crossed the Channel, heavy with wool, to unload their wares in the Grote Markt, one of the most famous squares in Europe, where you could taste the spices, hear voices from across the world, set sail for any distant land... under the proud shadow of an immense belfry, the symbol of free cities.
Bruges still bears many traces of this era: the irregular layout of its streets, its gables jutting out onto the pavement, bristling with winches to hoist goods up to the eaves, its wide canals now crossed by swans, its venerable belfry that still chimes every morning, the chatter of the seagulls and the iodine-laden evening breeze, a reminder of the nearby ocean that you can feel but not see, carrying the eternal hope of vast escapades...
Course Programme
Bruges Summer School of Architecture & Crafts
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WEEK I & II
Observe, remember, draw & create
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Lectures & round tables
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Bruges through time
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History & development of the City
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Vernacular architecture
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Architecture & Mythology
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The birth of the gothic church
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History of carpentry in Europe
Study visits
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Urban blocks & streets of Bruges with the Map of Marcus Gheeraerts
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The Burg: The City Hall & the Basilica of the Holy Blood
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The Belfry
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Houses of Bruges
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The Beguinage
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The Jerusalem Chapel & the Adornes Estate
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The Provincial Court
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The English Convent
Drawing sessions
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Introduction to geometry
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Gothic geometry
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Measured drawings: stonework, joinery, ironwork & brickwork
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Measured drawings: doors & windows details
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Measured drawings: facades, sections & plans
Workshops
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Stone carving & masonry
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Brick masonry
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Naturalistic ornamentation - ceramic & plaster
Study trips
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The Castle of Loppem
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The city of Ghent
The teachers
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Study the architecture of Bruges
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
DATES⎟ Friday 1st to Friday 15th of August, 2025
Students must be present for their presentation on 15 August until 4pm.
APPLICATION DEADLINE⎟15th of March, 2025
COURSE LOCATION⎟Bruges town center, Belgium
COURSE LANGUAGE ⎟English
COURSE TIMETABLE⎟9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday
Saturday ⎟10 am to 1 pm
Saturday afternoon and Sunday⎟Free time
FEES⎟Option 1⎟1 300 EUR
The fees includes:
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A shared room & shared bathroom in a town house in Bruges city center,
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A weekly meal pack* for each student group in each shared accommodation,
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The lectures, studio sessions, workshops & heritage site visits,
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The drawing and crafts materials,
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The transport tickets for the visits outside of Bruges,
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A daily afternoon snack & drink.
FEES⎟Option 2⎟1 600 EUR
The fees includes:
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A single room & shared bathroom in a town house in Bruges city center,
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A weekly meal pack* for each student group in each shared accommodation,
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The lectures, studio sessions, workshops & heritage site visits,
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The drawing and crafts materials,
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The transport tickets for the visits outside of Bruges,
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A daily afternoon snack & drink.
ACCOMMODATION LOCATIONS⎟Blekerstraat & Beenhouwersstraat (Bruges city center)
The accommodation includes:
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The bed linen
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A shower towel
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The wifi
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Fully-equipped bathroom/shower room
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A fitted kitchen
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A dining room
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A living room
*Weekly meal pack included⎟Cow's milk, plant milk, coffee, teas, bread, chocolate spreads, cereals, jams, honey, oatmeal, oil, spices, garlic, onions, flours, tomato sauces, coconut milk, rice, pasta, organic soups, biscuits, apples and bananas.
Minimum age to apply to the course⎟16 years old
Applicants under the age of 18 must send along with their application a letter from their legal guardian authorising them to take part in the summer school.
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If needed, you can apply for a partial scholarship. If so, you should explain the reasons in a separate letter when you apply and add supporting documents (e.g. proof of a university scholarship for the year 2025).
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HOW TO APPLY
IMPORTANT: Only complete applications will be considered.
Please submit ALL the information requested below before March 15, 2025 by email at:
contact@latablerondearchitecture.com
with the following e-mail title: Application BSSAC 2025 - full name
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Personal information: full name, full postal address, phone number & date of birth.
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Title - e.g. carpenter, student of architecture, student of the history of architecture, architect, urbanist, historian, high school student, lawyer, doctor, etc - and associated information (e.g. name of school, company, etc).
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Cover letter in English or French (max two pages in pdf)
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Three hand drawings in ONE pdf (e.g. measured drawing of a door, window or façade)
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Recommended: You can also add to this application any piece of writing that you feel is relevant (opinion piece, essay on architecture, etc), craft work(s) (jpeg images with captions), your Curriculum Vitae and recommendation letter(s).
