Oana Bogdan is the founder of the Brussels-based international practice for architecture and urbanism &bogdan, rooted in regenerative and socially engaged design since 2007. Her problem-solving mentality and cooperative ethos come together to create spatial conditions for regeneration and to anchor the work of &bogdan in the ongoing public debate. In doing so, she questions the traditional role of the architect, believing that the profession’s skills can be used to navigate the complexity of many areas of life. Embracing this ability to translate to other contexts, she took on, among others, the role of state secretary for culture in Romania and chairwoman of the ‘Good Living’ expert committee in charge of Brussels Region Building Code’s Reform. Since 2023, she has been chairwoman of the Netherlands Creative Industries Fund committee for architecture and board member of Flanders Architecture Institute in Belgium. Through these roles and her work at &bogdan, she has contributed to policy and advocated for the importance of design in society.

Tom Boogaerts is a Belgian architect and spatial strategist focused on social relevance in the built environment. As a freelance collaborator at &bogdan, he contributes to the strategic and conceptual development of projects through a holistic, systemic approach to architecture, space, and society. He holds a Master of Architecture from KU Leuven (Brussels campus). After starting his career at UR architects in 2008, he joined &bogdan (formerly BOGDAN & VAN BROECK) in 2010, where he is now executive director, supporting Oana Bogdan and the team. He has extensive experience across scales, from renovations and social housing to mixed-use projects and public infrastructure. Beyond practice, Tom is active in improving architectural labour conditions through advocacy, writing, and task forces with bMa, NAV, and others. Since 2025, he teaches at UHasselt, combining design studio tutoring with a course on architectural management. Tom believes in integrity, collaboration, critical reflection, and structural action as foundations for a healthier and more just profession.

Marta graduated with a Master in Architecture and Urban Design at the Silesian University of Technology in Poland. Her academic body of work and previous professional experiences in the Netherlands have allowed her to deepen a technical yet sensitive approach to urban design, where territorial water structures overlap with the consolidation of public spaces. Since she joined our team in 2016, her derived understanding of how spatial parameters affect the construction of societies allowed her to empower local communities through design: for instance with the adaptive reuse of parish churches in Flanders, or the implementation of the collective ambitions of the 58 households and the local healthcare centre of our project Bijgaardehof.

Maria graduated as a laureate in 2017 from the Polytechnical School of Madrid (ETSAM), including a year on Erasmus in Paris (ENSAPB). After initial professional experiences in Madrid and Paris, she collaborated for five years with Ouest Architecture in Brussels, where she coordinated various renovations of private and cultural projects, including the transformation of a former classified cinema into a Laboratory for Artistic and Civic Activities. She shaped her approach to architecture during her master’s thesis, “The Extraordinary of the common”. Maria sees each project as an opportunity to catalyse the potential of the existing conditions, an approach that enriches our projects since she joined the team in 2023.  

Sarah graduated in architecture at KULeuven, campus Sint-Lucas Ghent, with an exchange at the National Technical University of Athens. Her thesis explored the impact of contemporary visual cultures on our identity as architects by juxtaposing architectural and fashion cultures in today’s ever-accelerating image-dominated world. After this, she interned at Rotor Deconstruction as well as Horst Arts & Music Festival where she continues to be project coordinator during the festival’s build-up weeks. Curious about the different forms and scales architecture can take, she also obtained a degree in Furniture and Interior Design. Sarah joined the &bogdan team in 2024, where she shares their drive to foster multicultural, interdisciplinary, inclusive and sustainable building approaches.

Benoit holds an Architecture degree from La Cambre, Brussels, with a concentration in Research and Critical Theory (with a studio at ENSAV La Cambre in Urban Space) and a one-year Erasmus in Graz, Austria. His master thesis explored a systemic approach of Architecture. He also holds an MBA from Boston University with a concentration in Leadership & Change Management. His work experience crossed many fields, from architecture (naturally) to entrepreneurship, through consulting. Benoit worked about ten years with the architecture firm BAUKUNST where he managed projects that have been extensively published and awarded, such as La Fraineuse in Spa, Quatre-Vents in Brussels, Paris-Saclay in Palaiseau, Volumes Résiduels in La Défense Paris.

Irena graduated as an engineer architect in 2024 from the KU Leuven, with an exchange at the Politecnico di Milano. Her thesis worked within the framework of the productive city to research, design and ultimately reimagine an abandoned factory in Vienna. This work demonstrates her profound interest in urban design and its influence on her architectural approach. In addition to her work in architecture and urbanism, Irena expresses her creativity as a cellist, which enhances her ability to create resonance—both in terms of sensory experience and physical space. Irena joined the &bogdan team in 2024, where she shares a dedication to creating resilient urban space through critical architectural work.

Clelia graduated in 2024 from KU Leuven’s Faculty of Architecture, following a bachelor’s degree at ULB. She received the Van Hove Award for her graduation project, which reflects her profound interest in rurality, heritage, and cartography. Through internships at Ouest, Altstadt, and Archicaz, she enhanced her expertise in these areas while developing her skills in Archicad and refining her use of drawing as an explorative tool—central to her architectural process and a way of analyzing and communicating spatial ideas. Beyond architecture, Clelia is passionate about bookmaking, a practice that unites her love for drawing, photography, and architecture. Through this medium, she investigates and conveys architectural narratives. Since 2024, she has been collaborating on projects at &bogdan.

Yana Pencheva graduated cum laude from Eindhoven University of Technology in Architecture, Urbanism, and Design Engineering. In her thesis, she adopted an autoethnographic research approach to explore the embedded knowledge of architecture rooted in craftsmanship and traditional forms of making, specifically focusing on the role of bioregional materials in sustaining rituals of maintenance and care. Her exemplary thesis was selected to participate in the 2025 edition of Archi Prix Netherlands. Her interests in philosophy, traditional architectural craft and her experience in digital fabrication allow her to design with awareness of the complex nature of the profession. Beyond architecture, Yana is passionate about poetry, photography, and writing, which she uses as mediums to craft narratives exploring the beauty in our complex relationship with the living environment. Yana joined the &bogdan team in 2024.

Mike graduated as an architect from EPFL Lausanne in 2024, completing a thesis under Charlotte Malterre-Barthes and Dieter Dietz. Drawing on gender studies and queer theory, the thesis explored architecture as an emotional archive, materializing trans* imaginaries through bodies, space, and connection. The work builds on experiences at TRIBU in Lausanne, a master studio with Sophie Delhay and Shirana Shahbazi, and involvement in the DRAG lab, a queer-feminist-decolonial association at EPFL. Grounded in strong academic and professional training in housing, Mike examines architecture as a reframing tool to learn from and respond to marginalized communities. Working across plans, collages, and poetry, they use architecture as a transformative medium. In 2023, Mike co-founded the collective BIMBOS* with Laure Melati Dekoninck, exploring agency and parasitic strategies within existing systems. Mike joined &bogdan in 2024, sharing a commitment to socially responsive, interdisciplinary design.

Smaranda holds a Master’s degree in Architecture from La Cambre-Horta, with a one-year Erasmus at Universidade Lusíada de Lisboa. She has 13 years of professional experience, including six years at Bureau Bouwtechniek, where she specialized in the tendering and execution phases of medium- to large-scale public projects. Smaranda worked on projects such as the CERIA secondary school campus in Anderlecht, the Van Praet secondary school, and the restoration and extension of the Abbaye de Forest. Prior to that, she collaborated with Gauthier Coton & CLN on various competitions and housing projects. As an independent architect registered with the BCBW since 2013, she has carried out several residential renovations in Brussels, focusing on residential renovations and small-scale extensions. She is fluent in French, Dutch, English, German, Romanian, and Luxembourgish. Smaranda joined the &bogdan team in 2025.

 Mahta graduated Magna Cum Laude from KU Leuven’s Faculty of Architecture, Sint-Lucas Gent. In her master’s thesis, “Ruins of Justice”, inspired by Spatial Agency, she investigated the Palace of Justice in Brussels, examining the relationship between authority and the (urban) spaces it inhabits. She proposed alternative approaches to creating urban collective spaces and explored whether degradation itself can be an act of care. Her work reflects a broader interest in the environmental, social, and political dimensions of architecture, explored through participation in international competitions such as Microhome 2020, in which she addressed housing challenges among youth in Tehran through critical engagement with cultural traditions, politics, and economics. During her bachelor’s studies in Tehran, she gained professional experience with award-winning offices, including ZAV Architects and [SHIFT] Process Practice. Mahta joined &bogdan team in 2025.

Sarah was a sensitive friend, exceptionally strong woman, brilliant architect and pillar of &bogdan who passed away way too early. She honoured us with her brilliance and dedication for eight years, whether it was strategically thinking about the future of &bogdan, lecturing about our work, leading winning projects or doing research by design for the reform of new urban regulations of Brussels Region.

Sarah embodied our international and multidisciplinary mindset. She studied in France and Sweden, graduated as the laureate of the International Master of Architecture of the KU Leuven campus Brussels, and was shortlisted finalist of Europan 14. Collaborations with Taktyk and Atelier Matador allowed her to sharpen a multifaceted background spanning over architecture, landscape, urban design and social endeavours. Prior to joining our team in 2015, Sarah collaborated with us on the Land-use Series, a recurrent concern in her body of work. She designed and coordinated complex projects such as Bijgaardehof, The Cosmopolitan or NovaCity, with a logical yet sensitive mind and a practical approach to problem solving. Her constant strive for quality inspired our team and partners, behind – and beyond – the scenes.