Press Release
Rotterdam, 11 June 2009
4th International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR)
24 September 2009 – 10 January 2010
Program launch for 4th International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam
The program for the 4th edition of International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR) has now taken shape. The 4th IABR includes three major exhibitions (two in Rotterdam and one in Amsterdam); a massive Event Program at the Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAI); and a large cross-media project in cooperation with the broadcaster VPRO. The 4th IABR will kick off on 24 September with its main exhibition, Open City: Designing Coexistence, at the NAI in Rotterdam. Two other exhibitions will open their doors to the public: Parallel Cases//IABR@RDM on 25 September and The Free State of Amsterdam on 26 September.
IABR ventures into Amsterdam
One of the IABR exhibitions takes place in Amsterdam.The city is hosting The Free State of Amsterdam, organized in conjunction with the City of Amsterdam’s Spatial Planning Department. The exhibition will examine whether it is possible to pursue an urban-planning policy in ‘the Amsterdam of the Future’ that will create more freedom for its citizens instead of placing evermore restrictions on life in the Dutch capital. The IABR will shortly reveal the special venue for The Free State of Amsterdam exhibition.
IABR and VPRO join forces: Urban Century
The IABR has teamed up with the broadcaster VPRO, which has created a large-scale cross-media project called Urban Century. From 13 September, a large number of VPRO programs devoted to life and living in the city will be put out on radio, TV and online. Beyond that, the IABR and the VPRO are currently compiling a digital archive (radio and TV programs centering on urban life) available to visitors at the VPRO Pavilion in the NAI during the biennale. Parts of the digital archive can also be downloaded at no cost.
Education in Parallel Cases//IABR@RDM
The newly created RDM Campus in South Rotterdam, which is home to the Rotterdam Academy of Architecture and Urban Design, will form the backdrop for the Parallel Cases//IABR@RDM exhibition. The show is being organized in collaboration with the academy, as well as with the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS) of Erasmus University Rotterdam. 44 Institutions of higher education from around the world will be presenting their projects.
The International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR) is an international research biennale founded in 2001 on the conviction that architecture is a public concern. It is an international event of exhibitions, conferences, lectures and other activities devoted to themes in the field of architecture and urbanism.
The 4th edition of the IABR will take place from 24 September 2009 until 10 January 2010 in Rotterdam and Amsterdam. Central venue of the 4th IABR is the NAI. The theme is Open City: Designing Coexistence. The 4th IABR’s curator is Dutch architect and urbanist Kees Christiaanse, professor at ETH Zurich and founder of and partner in KCAP Rotterdam. In addition to three exhibitions, the 4th IABR is laying on a sizeable Event Program at the NAI, including debates, lectures, theater performances and film screenings.
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Note for the editor
For more information, visual material and interviews with professionals contributing to this event, please contact Ms. Eveline van Engelen or Ms. Xandra Nibbeling of the IABR Press Office at +31 (0)10 206 00 33 or pers@iabr.nl.
