Until the end of 2022, the Romanian-Belgian architect Oana Bogdan was operating as Bogdan & Van Broeck with co-founder Leo Van Broeck. The Brussels-based practice reconfigured under the name &bogdan, which stands for cooperation and promotes the “follow me I’m right behind you” type of leadership. Bogdan’s problem-solving mentality and cooperative ethos come together to create spatial conditions for collective life. Here she questions the architect’s traditional role, 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, Bogdan took on the role of Secretary of State for cultural heritage in the Romanian Government which assumed leadership of the country in 2016. In 2021 she was appointed Chairwoman of the ‘Good Living’ Expert Committee in charge of the reform of Brussels Region’s building code.

Tom graduated from the Sint-Lucas Hogeschool in Brussels and collaborated for two years with Europan 6-winners UR architects prior to joining our office in 2010. His background is comprised of an amalgam of architecture, urbanism, landscape and design research, with a strong focus on social relevance enabling him to navigate between studies, design assignments and execution. Together with other experts, Tom coordinated our research project “Urbanity Task Force”. Next to his dedicated design and management of operations up to 30.000m², such as Den Travoo or the Campus Unesco Koekelberg, Tom’s in-depth knowledge of the architectural world supports our team on the related technical, legal and financial frameworks.

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.

Andreea completed her Master of Architecture in Bucharest including a year long Erasmus exchange in Madrid. Her internship at Henning Larsen in Germany and a first post-graduate position at the award-winning Bucharest-based architecture studio STARH allowed her to develop her meticulous sense of detail. She relocated in Belgium in 2018 and sharpened her critical mindset with DierendonckBlancke architecten and TRANS architectuur stedenbouw. In our team since 2020, Andreea’s interest in collections and memories of any kind insuflates creative and poetic solutions in the development of our projects at all stages.

Aaron graduated as the laureate from the International Master of KULeuven campus Sint-Lucas Brussel. His master dissertation unfolded an architectural strategy for community empowerment and self-managed regeneration of a deteriorating neighbourhood in Havana, Cuba. Internships in Belgium and Ecuador allowed him to position concepts in a regional and international framework embedded in a deep understanding of the local reality and social aspects of the relevant community. Prior to joining the team in 2021, Aaron focussed on projects redefining urban economy, culture in the city and collective living with TRANS. Aaron thrives when given the opportunity to enhance the value of collective space and social relevance of our projects.

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.

Caroline graduated as an Engineer-Architect from UCLouvain, where her thesis, “Interdisciplinarity in Architecture: The researchers house” explored architecture’s potential as a social fabric, using spatial programming to foster human interaction and social cohesion. This idea of architecture as a catalyst for meaningful connections has since become central to her practice. During her time at Baukunst, Caroline worked on the execution phase of Manufakture in Anderlecht. Beyond navigating the technical complexities of this large-scale project, she developed a keen understanding of how design can be thoughtfully integrated into practical solutions during this phase while preserving the conceptual integrity of the design. She continues to refine this pragmatic yet creative approach at &bogdan.

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.

Natalie graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in the United States, including a year-long exchange at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland. During her studies, she was awarded the Ferguson Jacobs Prize in Architecture, which supported her research centered on rituals of material renewal in sacred spaces, specifically focusing on physical reconstruction as a form of maintenance for spiritual and cultural narratives. Natalie has interned at Christ & Gantenbein in Basel, Switzerland, and Studio Giancarlo Valle in New York, as well as with a Los Angeles-based design and research studio collaborating with non-profit and community-based grassroots organizations to address climate risks and environmental vulnerabilities. Natalie is interested in design across and between scales, from the cultural to the object. She particularly loves designing clothing—her work has been shown twice in the Lunar Gala fashion show and has also been sold in stores. Natalie joined the &bogdan team in 2024.

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 the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in 2024, where they worked on their thesis under the guidance of Charlotte Malterre-Barthes and Dieter Dietz. The thesis explored gender studies and queer theory, using architecture as an emotional archive to materialize trans* imaginaries through bodies, space, and connection. The project draws from their experiences during an internship at TRIBU in Lausanne, their master studio with Sophie Delhay and Shirana Shahbazi, and their involvement with the DRAG lab, a queer-feminist-decolonial association within the architecture section of the EPFL. It also draws from an area in which Mike has received strong academic and professional training: housing. They have specifically explored this theme as a reframing tool, examining how architectural design can address and learn from the needs of marginalized communities. Through various mediums—such as plans, collages, and poetry—Mike uses architecture as a transformative device that shape the contours of a trans* future. In 2023, Mike co-founded the collective BIMBOS* with Laure Melati Dekoninck. Together, they uncover sites of leverage and explore parasitic possibilities, mapping out agency within the system. Mike joined the &bogdan team in 2024, where they share a dedication to creating thoughtful and socially responsive spaces through interdisciplinary design.

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.