In the '90s, the government's architectural policy was formed in architectural annuals and became the subject of much criticism. The new Flanders had set up its own institutions too quickly.

At the same time, Eric Antonis, then Antwerp's cultural alderman, organised a conference about urbanism and quality. On this occasion, amongst other things, there was discussion about the appointment of a City Architect.

The architects at the conference expressed the opinion that some authorities fell short in the area of a policy of quality architecture. The Minister responsible, Wilvina Demeester, took heed of this criticism from the architectural profession. She suggested appointing a Government Architect following the example of the Netherlands. The Netherlands has had a Government Architect for over a hundred years and the beneficial influence on the government was noticeable.

So in 1999, the first Flemish Government Architect was appointed. This task fell to bOb Van Reeth. In his six year term, Van Reeth emphasised first and foremost the responsibilities of those giving out commissions. High quality architecture is the choice of the principal and the government must play an exemplary role. He took a conscious decision not to build anything himself, but to assist those commissioning work in their choice of architect. The workload, as well as the Flemish Government Architect's team, increased enormously over those 6 years.