The seminar is hosted by the department of Architecture, Urbanism and Planning (ASRO), K.U.Leuven located in the city of Leuven.

The seminar sessions and plenaries take place at the ASRO department in the Arenberg Castle and adjacent former water mill. The key note lectures and the seminar dinner take place in the city centre.

Click for an Overview of all locations.

Click for a Leuven city center map.

Reaching the ASRO department and the Arenberg Castle seminar venue from the Leuven train station and from the city centre

(map)

By bus

Take the No 2 bus in the direction 'Heverlee Campus' from the bus station next to the main train station or from one of the bus stops on the main thoroughfares Bondegenotenlaan – Naamsestraat running through the city center.

Get off the bus at the 'KANTINEPLEIN' in Heverlee and walk down to the Willem de Croylaan where you will see the Arenberg Castle across the lawns. This 20 minute bus ride costs €1.60. Bus tickets are available from ‘De Lijn’ office at the train station (bus schedules in Dutch).

By taxi

A taxi from the main train station or the city centre directly to the Arenberg Castle costs approximately €20.

Travel to Leuven

By train

There are frequent international high speed train connections to Bruxelles Midi train station. Other regular long distance rail connections stop at Bruxelles Midi, Bruxelles Central and Bruxelles Nord train stations.

There are very frequent rail connections between Brussels and Leuven (Louvain in French). The journey takes between 20 (Bruxelles Nord) and 35 minutes (Bruxelles Midi) (Train schedules).

Be careful NOT to take the train to Louvain-la-Neuve, an easy enough mistake to make!

By air

There are frequent flights from many destinations to Brussels Airport and some low-cost connections to Brussels South Charleroi Airport.

Direct trains connect Brussels National Airport to the main train station in Leuven in less than 15 minutes (€3.30 for a one-way ticket). Be careful NOT to take the train to Louvain-la-Neuve, an easy enough mistake to make! A taxi from the airport to Leuven would cost around €70.

The journey from Brussels South Charleroi airport is much longer and less convenient. It requires a transfer by bus or train to Bruxelles Midi, Central or Nord train stations and from there onto Leuven. See the ‘train’ section for schedules.

By car

If you come by car from Brussels or Liege, take the E40 highway, exit the E40 onto the E314 at exit 'Leuven - E314' and then immediately exit the E314 at exit ‘15 Leuven' onto the Koning Boudewijnlaan. 

At the second traffic lights, turn right onto Celestijnenlaan, drive approximately 700m and turn left into the entrance marked ’Arenbergkasteel’ [white letters on blue sign] to arrive at the Arenberg Castle.  

About Leuven

Leuven is one of the historic Flemish towns among others such as Bruges, Ghent, Mechelen and Antwerp. It is situated 25 km east of Brussels. It is a university town since 1425 when the Katholieke Universiteit was founded. The city counts numerous historic buildings such as a 13th century beguinage and university colleges.

The ASRO department is located at the Arenberg Castle just south of the city. The seminar will take place in and around the castle as well as on other locations in town.

Leuven is not just a historic town. Recently it has been the site of a thorough modernization. A key project is the redevelopment of the railway area designed by Marcel Smets and his Projectteam Stadsontwerp since the 1990s. The project includes a new bus station and underground car park designed by Manuel de Solà Moralles and the Provinciehuis Vlaams-Brabant designed by Goncalo Byrne and WIT architects (co-founded by Bruno De Meulder).

Other notable additions to the Leuven architectural landscape are the STUK cultural center by Willem Jan Neutelings and the Arenberg Campus Library by Rafael Moneo.