After his studies at the Catholic University of Louvain (KUL) in Belgium, Johan De Wachter worked for the Office of Metropolitan Architecture of Rem Koolhaas from 2000 until 2004. There he contributed to a large number of projects and competitions. In 2003 Johan founded the Fün Design Consultancy and was partner until 2005. In 2005 he founded JDWA and in 2011 he teamed up with Rik De Vooght to establish 2DVW Architects in Antwerp.
He has been teaching at the Delft Technical University and the Rotterdam Academy of Architecture and Urban Design. Currently he is teaching at the Fontys Hogeschool voor Architectuur & Stedenbouw in Tilburg.
In January 2015 Johan De Wachter was appointed associate professor at the Kaunas University of Technology (Lituania) where he leads the urban planning studio focused on city transformation. The focus is an extensive research on the soviet neighborhoods. One studio ‘Microraion Transformation Strategies’ examines the transformation possibilities of socialist monofunctional housing areas through a combination of renovation, programmatical diversification, typological innovation, new constructions and redefining public space. The second studio ‘City (axis) Transformation Strategies’ investigates transformation and reuse on a larger scale including infrastructural aspects and reprogramming on a city scale. Within the university context the studio aims to create a research project where other departments and faculties (engineering, infrastructure, building technology, sustainability, …) collaborate in a multidisciplinary environment.
Johan, took part in the panel “Learning from Gldani” during symposium.