Roel De Ridder, PhD M Arch, is a services researcher at Hasselt University, faculty of Architecture and Arts (ArcK / Spatial Capacity Building). He works as a lecturer of theory and a tutor at KU Leuven, faculty of Architecture (Campusses Sint-Lucas Brussels & Ghent). Apart from that, he is a former artistic director of the architectural/cultural association Architectuurwijzer (Hasselt / Genk). As a volunteer, he is active in several cultural, social and interreligious organisations. Roel's research interests are architectural theory (2nd half of the 20th century), sacred and public spaces, (spatial) self-organization and the autonomy ánd social impact of architecture.