Since the inauguration of the Aula Academica in Ghent in 1826, its grand proportions and lavish decoration have impressed visitors. An examplar of tasteful, neoclassical architecture, the university building soon joined the list of Belgium’s canonical buildings. The Aula was the first commission of Louis Roelandt (1786–1864), a promising architect who had just returned from training in Paris at the École spéciale d’architecture under Charles Percier and Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine. Through a detailed analysis of the design process, this article examines how Roelandt’s design forms part of an international architectural culture that understood not just the principles of composition but how composition combines with the ways an interior is used. Drawing on the example of a national pantheon commemorating important people, Roelandt created an ensemble in which architectural composition, interior decoration and the visitor’s path of movement contribute to the expression of architectural character.