Soft Power - The Brussels Way of Making the City

The exhibition Soft Power: The Brussels Way of Making the City traces Belgium’s path—particularly that of Brussels—towards international recognition in contemporary architecture and urban design. It highlights the framework conditions that have fostered a demanding and open building culture, while enabling a new generation of architects to actively engage in shaping the city.

At the heart of this dynamic stands the Bouwmeester Maître Architecte (BMA), an institution established in 2009 with a primarily advisory mandate. Despite this non-executive role, the BMA has played a decisive part in raising architectural quality in Brussels. Through the work of the city architect and his team, a range of tools has been developed to support public and private clients throughout the entire project process, from the definition of ambitions to delivery.

Among these tools, architectural competitions are the cornerstone of the BMA’s approach. Designed as non-anonymous, internationally open calls—positioned between open and invited competitions—they ensure transparent access to commissions in architecture, urban planning and public space, while fostering high-quality design outcomes. As the exhibition suggests, this hybrid competition model offers a compelling reference that could be more widely considered in other European contexts, including Luxembourg.

• Curators : Roxane Le Grelle, Andreas Kofler
• Scenography : Aslı Çiçek
• An exhibition of : S AM Swiss Architecture Museum in cooperation with the Bouwmeester Maître Architecte (BMA) and with support of Brussels Capital Region
• Organisation of the exhibition (Luxembourg) : LUCA – Luxembourg Center for Architecture
• Exhibition from 27 February 2026 to 6 June 2026