Vermeulen emphasises that the link with other architectural firms is at least as important as the internal synergy within his own firm. He compares it with the world of classical music: “Many of the projects in the exhibition came about in cooperation with other designers. Sometimes we took someone’s master-plan a step further, or else we chose a common theme around which, as in chamber music, an ensemble takes shape.” And this is a deliberate choice. Vermeulen: “Because the city is in itself a shared idea, interventions in the city should be the result of the same idea; considered, discussed and designed together with others.”

The layout of the exhibition not only refers to a studio, but is also reminiscent of a city. Paul Vermeulen: “By putting models and plans on and around tables and chairs made of a uniform material, an urban order takes shape in the exhibition.” The elements of the exhibition include a couple of notable objects which in themselves contribute to this urban feel. For instance, the large canvases with drawings by Benoît Van Innis, a design for the Maalbeek metro station in Brussels, give you the sense of waiting for the next metro train. An element from the balustrades of the engineer’s access bridges that De Smet and Vermeulen designed for the railways in Ghent in its turn provides a view of the city that is otherwise reserved for railway workers.