Beguinages are semi-monastic communities that originated in the 12^th and 13^th century. Besides world heritage the former beguinage settlements in the Lowlands are considered a prototypical examples for collective housing today. Several contemporary housing schemes are inspired by this historical building form and its different characteristics. Its most typical appearance is that of a closed figure with houses surrounding a common courtyard, with small gardens or courts serving as buffers and entrances to private houses. This introvert typology combined with its former autarkic quality results today in a welcome counterpoint in the city: a hidden oasis or a place for the much-desired peace and quiet in the bustling centre of the city.

The students first investigated the historical housing settlements in Flanders and compared it to post-war and contemporary examples abroad. In the second part they defined an adaptive reuse strategy for the preservation of the Antwerp beguinage on a larger scale. This was followed by an architectural approach consisting of a redesign of one of the houses, to be adapted to modern standards, reactivating the historically layered quality of the site, and an introduction of other (non-profit) functions in some of the more complex dwellings or convents.