Sa 12 Dec 09
Urban Planning: Profession or Vacuum
A home game for Rotterdam Open City
AIR, in co-operation with KCAP Architects & Planners, organises a symposium on the state of urban planning in Rotterdam on Saturday December 12. The symposium takes place within the framework of the 4th Internationale Architecture Bienalle Rotterdam in the Netherlands Architecture Institute on the occasion of KCAP’s 20th anniversary.
Urban planning is by definition a public discipline in which Rotterdam has its own tradition. It is about the hospitality of public space, about public meaning of private buildings and about the composition of the city through fragments and projects. Urban planning as a profession is practised everywhere: in specific projects, but also in a chaos of visions and design studies. At the same time, urban planning is absent in Rotterdam: it is an accumulation of architectural projects or a derivative of landscape architecture. The Achilles’ heel of Rotterdam’s urban condition will be the subject of the debate. Designers, researchers and clients are challenged to contribute to the discussion with their experiences and positions.
The first part of the symposium is defined by three lectures to be given by Kees Christiaanse (KCAP, curator Open City), Wouter Vanstiphout (Crimson) and Arnold Reijndorp. They will speak about the current state of urbanism in Rotterdam.
The second part consists of a discussion with urban planners of Rotterdam, led by Michiel Riedijk (Neutelings-Riedijk). The purpose of this debate is to explore and appreciate Rotterdam’s urbanism in practice. Willemijn Lofvers will outline the urban planning practice in the center of Rotterdam with a series of inventories and maps. Along with Astrid Sanson and Mercé de Miguel i Capdevila (dS + V) those planners are invited to join the debate who work on various projects in Rotterdam.
Initiative and programming: AIR and KCAP
Implementation and Production: KCAP, IABR and NAI
Date: Saturday, December 12
Time: 3 – 6 pm followed by drinks
Location: Auditorium, NAI
Admission: Free
Reservations: www.nai.nl/register
Unfortionately, a place in the Auditorium is no longer guaranteed. The discussion however, can be followed in The Hood.
