Wouter Vanstiphout at Architectenweb Magazine

The Dutch architectural magazine AWM (architectenweb magazine) has today published their latest edition. This time containing a 6-page interview with Wouter Vanstiphout on the confusing roleplay of urban design, “process” as an export product and how riots reveal something of the city that the city would rather keep hidden.

The article gives a nice summary of what is shown in the DasP exhibition, but also reveals a glimpse of what can be expected of the –soon to be published- book Are we the world? (Date will be announced a.s.a.p.)

For those struggling with our weird Dutch language (and those who don’t): Toposmagazine also published a review of the 5^th IABR with a significant part about our exhibition. Check it out.

The exhibition is open from Wednesday to Saturday and runs until the 7th of July. 

Debat THEN/NOW #4

Aankomende donderdag (25 mei) zal het de debat ‘THEN/NOW #4: HET PUBLIEKE DOMEIN ALS POLITIEK MEDIUM?’ plaatsvinden in het NAi. Na een inleidende lezing van Cor Wagenaar zal Wouter Vanstiphout in debat gaan met Bernard Colenbrander, Ton Schaap en Albert Jan Kruiter op de vraag: is de stedelijke ruimte in staat uitdrukking te geven aan een glasheldere politieke boodschap die raakt aan de persoonlijke ambities van de burgers?

Het publieke domein van de stad wordt gevormd door straten, pleinen, openbare en representatieve gebouwen. Ze zijn gemaakt voor gemeenschappelijk gebruik, maar het zijn ook de plekken waar de gemeenschap duidelijk maakt waar ze vandaan komt en waar ze heen wil: de hardware van de gebouwen, de software van demonstraties en ‘happenings‘. Wat de boodschap ook is, in het publieke domein bereikt ze iedereen; het is tegelijkertijd strijdtoneel en toonbeeld van de uitkomsten van die strijd. Het is gemeenschappelijk en dus politiek. Het plaatst de stedeling in zijn politieke context, letterlijk. Het is een kwestie van architectuur en stedenbouw. Willen machthebbers hun politieke utopia’s onder de mensen brengen dan is er geen betere plek dan het publieke domein; wil de oppositie ertegen protesteren, dan is ook daarvoor het publieke domein de aangewezen plek. Zo was de situatie eeuwenlang. Maar is dit nog steeds zo?

Tijdens de lezing van Cor Wagenaar wordt ingegaan op twee tamelijk radicale voorbeelden uit de geschiedenis die laten zien hoe twee tijdvakken door exact dezelfde ambities werden bepaald: de jaren tussen 1775 en 1850, en die tussen 1955 en 1975. Mensen gingen de straat op en wilden het publieke domein letterlijk hervormen. Is dat ook nu nog mogelijk? Kan het publieke domein andere boodschappen uitdragen dan alleen commerciële? Heeft de smartphone gemeenschappelijke belangen versplinterd? Is een niveau van welstand bereikt dat niets te wensen overlaat? Is het openbaar bestuur in staat recht te doen aan ieders ambities.

Het debat zal plaatsvinden op 24 mei en start om 20:00 uur in het NAi Auditorium. Toegang is € 7,50 (€ 3 voor studenten). Inschrijven kan hier.

NRC en de Soundtrack bij de Rellen

Gister (3mei) in het Cultureel Supplement ‘Kunst en politiek’ van het NRC Handelsblad en vandaag (4mei) in de NRC NEXT:  een twee pagina groot artikel van Bernard Hulsman over de tentoonstelling Design as Politics!

Het stuk gaat voornamelijk in op het verhaal achter de driedimensionale collages met als centraal thema de relatie tussen popmuziek en stadsrellen.  Van de punkband The EX tijdens de Amsterdamse krakersrellen via NWA’s Fuck the Police en de LA Riots naar Ill manors en de Britse rellen van vorig jaar. Interessant voor zowel de architecten als de muziekliefhebbers onder ons (liefst beide). Check it out!

BDonline review on the 5th IABR: Making City

It’s more than a week since the opening of the IABR, so time for the first reviews.  The UK website bdonline sent one of their reporters along the exhibitions and this quite critical story is the result (unfortunately behind a pay-wall). Our exhibtion, got away quite well with credits for ‘revealing the really pressing issues that uncover deep-seated political tensions that create the unstable basis on top of which official citymakers stage their vision of “making city” (His words).

You’re invited to pass by an make your own judgement? The exhibition runs until July 7th and is open from Wednesday to Saturday, 12:00 – 17:00 hrs. Entrance is free.

Picture by Maarten Laupman

Making Design and Politics: Opening statement

Yesterday, Wouter Vanstiphout joined the debate: ‘Making Design and Politics’ in the NAi. His opening statement on trust, democracy and how Making City is the one goal that should bind us all, is now published on our blog. Read it here!

Making Design & Politics

More Design As Politics at the 5^th IABR! This time: the debate Making Design & Politics (pfd!), on multidisciplinary approaches taking city design into a political dimension while defining urban politics through a design approach.

The debate continues where the in 2011 organized series Design and Politics: The Next Phase at the Aedes Network Campus Berlin stopped and will outline alternative approaches to making our urban environment. It takes a next step towards the realisation of this approach by considering whether and how adaptability can become its cornerstone.

Besides Wouter Vanstiphout also Thomas Sieverts, Floris Alkemade and Petra Wesseler will take the stage during this by Henk Ovink moderated debate. The front row will be taken by Respondents Robert Kaltenbrunner, Arnold Reijndorp, Joachim Declerck and Pauline Terreehorst.

The debate takes place at 25 April at 20:00 in the NAi. Admission is free but you need to register.

Design as Politics Batches

An exhibition opening is not complete without a proper goodie. So we made one! Come to our opening, this Thursday, 19:30 in the Mini Mall, Rotterdam and get your own limited edition Design as Politics batch. There is one way to get a complete set. Come early!

Invitation

Come to the opening party of our exhibition! This Thursday (19th April, 19:30h) in the Mini-Mall, Rotterdam.

Architecture is politics! Why? Because cities are political. The city is the place where money, power, commerce, culture, religion and leisure meet and fight for a position.

The exhibition Design as Politics shows these fights through spectacular three-dimensional images. They show how for the construction of a beautiful urban project a whole neighbourhood has to be demolished, how bringing the Olympics to a city can lead to massive protests or how a political revolution can spoil a prestigious architectonic project.

But if Architecture is Politics, architects and urbanists are compelled to make bold decisions in their plans and designs. Design as Politics therefore offers a stage for six young designers to present a project in which they take position in the ongoing conflicts in the city: in favour, against or finding a third way to deal with large corporate institutions, self-building strategies, a motorway.

Finally the exhibition shows the soundtrack to the urban conflict with a focus on how popular music has added colour to urban politics. From Marvin Gaye’s ‘Inner City Blues’ and The Clash’s ‘Guns of Brixton’ to the Grime music that accompanied the London riots of 2011.

The Design as Politics exhibition is developed by the chair Design as Politics at Delft university of Technology, in the context of the 5th IABR: Making City. The exhibition takes place in De Hofbogen and runs until 7 July 2012.

The paradoxical situation of Dutch Planning

We are very proud to finally unveil some more information about the DasP exhibition at the 5^th IABR: Making City.  B Nieuws had the scoop so get your latest copy in the BK coffee corner or read it online. We’re on page 5.

Book launch Design and Politics #6

The moment is almost there! The launch of our first book: #6 in the Design and Politics series titled Are We The World? Randstad, Holland versus São Paulo, Istanbul & Detroit.

For decades, Dutch design has been exported across the globe. After a successful period in which the polycentric Randstad model was held in high esteem, followed by the fresh, modern approach of the SuperDutch architects, the resources and expertise of organisations such as NAi, IABR, and DutchDFA are now being employed for projects in Asia and South America. But, are Dutch ingenuity, pragmatism and process management the ideals that the explosively expanding or shrinking cities of the 21^st century are most in need of? Isn’t the city more of a political question – of accessibility, equality and democracy? What does the Dutch model offer global cities and what can the Netherlands itself learn? ‘

The book compares the Randstad with São Paulo, Istanbul and Detroit, and speculates about alternative visions for city planning and idealistic architectural intervention for the cities involved. ‘Are We the World?’ is not only a plea for a central role for city planning, and an active exchange of ideas, but primarily for new political involvement.

The Design and Politics series is an initiative of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment and examines the relationship between planning, design and politics. The book launch is unfortunately postponed. More information will follow a.s.a.p.