B NIEUWS 1 #08 2 APRIL 2012 INHOUD

B NIEUWS

1 #08 2 APRIL 2012

PERIODIEK VAN DE FACULTEIT BOUWKUNDE | TU DELFT

INHOUD

MASTER EVENT GUIDE INSIDE!

2/3 Nieuws Honours Programme BK: niet voor luiwammesen Peer to Peer InDeSem Wants You!

4 Review The End of the ReVolt House The Faculty''s decision and its impact

5 Upcoming Exporting Superheroes Sneak Preview of the IABR

6/7 BK in Depth Mark Your Calandar For Master Event 2012

8/9 Project Form Follows Wind and Daylight Daniel van Kasbergen, winner of the UfD-Cofely Energy Efficiency Prize

10/11 Research Urban Literacy, an interview with Klaske Havik

12/13 BK in Focus Zuidas: More Than Business? Herijking Urbanism

14 Forum Het Gelijk van Riedijk

15 Streets of BK What Would You Change About Your Studio?

16 Agenda Spotlight: International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam 2012

5 WOUTER VANSTIPHOUT: “DUTCH ARCHITECTS AND PLANNERS...ARE WIDELY WELCOMED AS IF THEY ARE SUPERHEROES COMING FROM OUTER SPACE TO TEACH LESSONS”

2 NIEUWS KORT NIEUWS

Advertising in B Nieuws

B NIEUWS 08 2 APRIL 2012

J OOK LOOP JI AL? A NOMIN

From April on, it is possible to submit small text advertisements for the backside of B Nieuws. Having troubles finding students for an internship or are you organizing an event that needs extra attention? Contact B Nieuws at [email protected] and ask for the possibilities.

bnieuws.wordpress.com

BK City STAY: update! Via bk.tudelft.nl/bkcitystay houdt de faculteit u op de hoogte van alle werkzaamheden en vorderingen van BK City STAY. BK City STAY is de verzamelnaam voor alle werkzaamheden en verbouwingen van BK City teneinde het gebouw efficiënter en duurzaam voor de toekomst te maken. Lees nu alles over de akoestische verbeteringen, de verduistering van de Oostserre en het onderhoud aan de noodtrappenhuizen.

newurbanconfigurations.nl

Real Estate Career Day BOSS, the association for Real Estate and Housing students, is organising a Real Estate Career Day (RECD) in BK City on 25 April 2012. The RECD offers Real Estate and Housing students from various universities and companies in the real estate sector an opportunity to meet each other during workshops and corporate presentations. Subscribe now at:

recd.nl

Call for Abstracts From 10-13 October the TU Delft Faculty of Architecture will be organising an international conference on the built environment, planning, geography, sociology and history of architecture and urban development. Deadline submission for abstracts is 1 May. If accepted, the participant is requested to send a full paper of 3,500 words or less before September, 1st 2012. Abstracts should not exceed 400 words. Good drawings and digital materials are highly welcome. _Plat kort. 09_Plat kort.

newurbanconfigurations.nl

HONOURS PROGRAMME BK: NIET VOOR LUIWAMMESEN! ‘HET KAN DUS WÉL’, ZEI THEO VAN DRUNEN IN B NIEUWS #04 ALS REACTIE OP DE 120 STUDENTEN DIE DIT JAAR HUN P-IN-1 HAALDEN. VAN OUDSHER KLAGEN BOUWKUNDESTUDENTEN DAT DE STUDIEDRUK TE HOOG IS: ALS JE JE PROPEDEUSE NOMINAAL HEBT GEHAALD, DAN IS HET ZEKER DAT JE GEEN SOCIAAL LEVEN HEBT. BKCity ­— Maar is dit echt zo? Of is er sprake

van een nieuwe generatie studenten, een generatie die nominaal loopt én nog tijd over heeft. Eén ding is zeker, het nieuwe Honours Programme is in ieder geval niet voor luiwammesen. Honours Programme student Hylke de Visser: “Ik raad het programma aan mensen aan die zelf graag initiatief nemen en zich niet alles aan laten leunen.” Honours Programme’s bestaan al langer op andere universiteiten. De Erasmus Universiteit bijvoorbeeld biedt al sinds 2004 een Honours Programme aan. Het is dan ook opmerkelijk dat op Bouwkunde een soortgelijk programma zo lang op zich heeft laten wachtten. Maar begin september is dan eindelijk de eerste lichting Honours studenten begonnen aan het ‘Honours Programme Bachelor BK.’ Het doel van het programma is excellente bachelor studenten de mogelijkheid te bieden voor verdieping en verbreding. In het programma worden 20 ECTS door de student vrij ingevuld bovenop het reguliere curriculum. Dit kan zowel met interfacultaire als facultaire modules. Wie het programma afrondt, ontvangt een Honours-aantekening op zijn bachelordiploma en een aanbevelingsbrief van de Conrector van de TU Delft. B Nieuws sprak met Hylke de Visser, één van de studenten die het programma volgt. De Visser is 20 jaar en al bezig met de afronding van de Bachelor. Het gaat voor hem wel wat snel. “Ik ga volgend jaar stage lopen, want ik wil niet met 23 jaar klaar zijn. Dan ga ik liever eerst kijken hoe het in de praktijk werkt.” Het afgelopen kwartaal heeft de Visser voor het Honours Programme een bouwplaatsstage gelopen bij een bouwmanagementbureau. “Daar zie

je de transitie van tekening naar tastbare uitvoering, en hoe anders die mensen werken dan wij.” Zo’n bouwplaatsstage is één van de mogelijkheden van het Honours Programma Bachelor. Omdat het programma vrij nieuw is, is er veel ruimte voor eigen initiatief van studenten. Deze eerste lichting studenten kon bijvoorbeeld zelf modules samenstellen, waarbij sommige studenten meer zagen in verbreding, en anderen in verdieping. Een voorbeeld van een verdiepende module is Mechanica, waarbij je in één week met docent Gerrie Hobbelman een ontwerp maakt en dat vervolgens gaat bouwen. De Visser interesseerde zich vooral in verbreding en volgde een workshop netwerken. “Ik merk dat ik uit het interfacultaire programma een netwerk heb opgebouwd van mensen waar ik goed mee samen kan werken. Als ik bijvoorbeeld iets met een brug wil en niet over de juiste kennis beschik kan ik dat een civieler vragen.” Dat vindt hij tevens één van de belangrijkste uitdagingen voor het Honours Programme: de groepsbinding en het netwerkeffect vergroten, zodat je ook na de studie wat hebt aan je contacten. (IT) Aanmelding voor het Honours Programme van september is mogelijk tot 15 juni 2012. Voor meer inormatie: honours.tudelft.nl

Vereisten Toelating Op het moment van aanmelding moet je minimaal 40 studiepunten hebben behaald. Op het moment van toelating moet je je propedeuse in één jaar Cum Laude hebben behaald, óf het tweede en derde semester nominaal hebben gehaald óf een andere goede reden hebben om mee te mogen doen.

NIEUWS 3 PEER TO PEER: TEACHERS EXAMINATED STUDENTS ARE SUBJECTED TO REVIEWS, FROM MIDTERMS TO EXAMINATIONS, ON A REGULAR BASIS. BUT SO WILL TEACHERS, AT LEAST IN THE NEAR FUTURE. IT IS THE INTENTION OF THE ARCHITECTURE FACULTY, WITH SUPPORT FROM THE EDUCATION AND STUDENT AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT, TO INTRODUCE PEER REVIEWS IN WHICH THE TEACHERS THEMSELVES WILL EVALUATE EACH OTHER. THE IDEA WAS FORMULATED AFTER THE ABILITIES OF TEACHERS IN THE BACHELORS CAME UNDER SCRUTINY BECAUSE OF NEGATIVE FEEDBACK FROM STUDENT SURVEYS. AS AN EXPERIMENT, A PILOT GROUP CONSISTING OF TEACHERS WHO VOLUNTEERED, STARTED IN NOVEMBER OF 2011 AND WAS SUCCESSFULLY CONCLUDED PAST FEBRUARY. BKCity — The pilot basically consisted of sessions, supported by external experts in education quality, in which the teachers observed each other and provided feedback while one of them was teaching. The results? Not only did the participating teachers consider the process worthwhile and instructive, but also quite fun. All participants stated that the feedback lead to concrete improvements into

their teaching abilities. The process of mutual feedback also improved and helped finetune parallel teaching sessions. Another surprising benefit is the strengthened bond between colleagues. A new group of volunteer teachers will start with the peer review in May of this year. Lessons learned from the pilot group will be implemented in the

new sessions. For instance after some pilot sessions, which are taped, students were immediately asked to provide their own feedback. This worked so well, that it might become part of the peer review. It was even considered a possibility to train a student to be an observer. The tables might not have been turned, but it looks like through evaluating teachers, even students will benefit. (DB)

INDESEM WANTS YOU! ALMOST A YEAR HAS PASSED SINCE THE LAST EDITION OF INDESEM (INTERNATIONAL DESIGN SEMINAR), A STUDENT-LEAD, WEEKLONG WORKSHOP FOR FORTY NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS BASED AROUND THEMATIC LECTURES. THE FIRST EDITION WAS HELD IN 1962 AND IN 1986 THE WORKSHOP WAS REINITIATED BY HERMAN HERTZBERGER AND AN INDEPENDENT GROUP OF STUDENTS. SINCE THEN IT HAS BEEN HELD FREQUENTLY (ANNUALLY OR BI-ANNUALLY) AND ATTRACTED VARIOUS INFLUENTIAL DESIGNERS AND THINKERS RANGING FROM REM KOOLHAAS, WINY MAAS TO PETER COOK. BKCity — Preparation for the 2012 edition is just around the corner and the first step will be to garner a new board consisting of ambitious and engaging students who wish to delve deeper into an architectural theme of their choosing. The previous board, led by Joris Hoogeboom, anticipates that it will take a little more effort into recruiting new members. With the “langstudeer boete” (extended study fine) looming over their heads, students might think twice when deciding to participate in extracurricular

Herman Hertzberger giving the opening lecture of InDeSem 2011 - Losing Ground

activities. But being part of the board has various, worthwhile benefits. Besides the obvious ones of ECTS points and developing new organisational skills, they’ll have the opportunity to focus on a praticular theme and then design the entire event around it. This means from the type of competition to select workshop participants to picking out speakers and workshop tutors who best represent the theme. They’ll grow to understand the many facets of their theme, not only through their own research and lectures, but through the

perspectives of the participants. And, last but not least, they’ll create new contacts, maybe even friendships, with interesting people. When looking back on his own experience Joris states “It's an opportunity to venture beyond the borders of what is taught in the curriculum and to work with the best professionals within that field.” So, what are you waiting for? (DB) If you’re interested in being part of the board, please contact:

[email protected]

COLUMN

(Af)leren Ontwerpen is een levenslang leerproces; het vakmanschap komt met hardwerken en na vele jaren. De lange weg die Rem Koolhaas heeft afgelegd voordat zijn eerste project gerealiseerd was, is slechts één voorbeeld. In dit proces van ‘learning by doing’ maakt onze faculteit een scheiding tussen dat wat geleerd moet worden binnen de universiteit en dat wat daarna aan bod komt. Binnenshuis is al genoeg te doen: de opleiding bestaat dan ook vooral uit kennis en oefening. Wij zijn tenslotte een universiteit en studeren is een transformerende ervaring. Het master diploma is dan ook een getuigenis van wijsheid; de kunst van het juist oordelen en handelen. De opleiding Bouwkunde focust en wie focust ziet bepaalde zaken scherp en laat andere dingen juist uit beeld verdwijnen. Soms is dit ‘uit beeld verdwijnen’ noodzakelijk en onontkoombaar. Wie zich namelijk continu focust, zal leren, maar als bijeffect ook bepaalde zaken afleren. En afleren is op zich zelf, mits het een bewuste keuze is, helemaal niet erg. Dit ‘afleren’ gebeurt bij Bouwkunde niet altijd even bewust. Het gebruikersperspectief op de gebouwde omgeving is hier een goed voorbeeld van. Eerstejaars studenten kennen nog het perspectief van de leek, maar dit perspectief verdwijnt door de studiejaren heen. Studenten ‘leren het af’. Dit perspectief van de gebruiker moet na de studie met moeite en met jaren praktijkervaring weer worden hervonden. Typerend is dan ook de openingszin op de website van Faro Architecten: “Als je niet voor mensen bouwt, voor wie dan wel?” Voor de leek lijkt dit een open deur, maar voor de (jong) professional is het vaak een eyeopener. Het is als de ingenieur die afstudeert op de voordelen van te openen ramen voor mensen en (binnen)milieu. Een groot inzicht voor mentoren en een open deur (raam) voor familie. Laten we onze opleiding dus niet alleen zien als een tijd van ‘aanleren’, maar ook beschouwen als een proces van ‘afleren’. En laten we ons afvragen in hoeverre dat tot wijsheid leidt. Afleren hoeft namelijk niet slecht te zijn, maar mag nooit ten koste gaan van onze maatschappelijke relevantie. Leren ontwerpen duurt dus een leven lang, maar is ook nog eens bijzonder breed. Ook dat is academisch inzicht. Machiel van Dorst, voorzitter afdeling Urbanism

4 REVIEW

B NIEUWS 08 2 APRIL 2012

THE END OF THE REVOLT HOUSE

The ReVolt House Team

MORE THAN THIRTY STUDENTS, WHO HAD DEVOTED THEIR TIME AND ENERGY INTO REALISING THE TU DELFT´S FIRST EVER ENTRY INTO THE SOLAR DECATHLON EUROPE COMPETITION, WERE UNDERSTANDABLY DISAPPOINTED WITH THE FACULTY´S DECISION TO PULL THE PLUG ON THE REVOLT HOUSE. WITH SIX MONTHS LEFT TILL THE FINAL PHASE OF THE COMPETITION IN MADRID, THE REVOLT HOUSE TEAM WASN´T ABLE TO SECURE ENOUGH FUNDING. THERE WERE NO OTHER OPTIONS LEFT. BY DAPHNE BAKKER Like many, Tim Hilhorst, who was responsible for PR and sponsorship, was part of the ReVolt House team since its very inception in September 2010, when the kick-off meeting took place. Some joined in later, like Martin van Meijeren, who was part of the indoor climate team. For both of them the hardest part is that they will never know what they could’ve achieved if given more time to garner the remaining amount of funding. They had hope and some new contacts, but not enough time according to the Faculty. Now they can only wonder. So far, TU Delft is the only university whose team has pulled

out of the competition. It would appear that their competitors had no similar funding problems. Unlike the other participants of the Decathlon, who were either only sponsored by their own government and/or university, the ReVolt House Team was mostly dependent on the sponsorships of external enterprises. Tim considers it quite a feat that they were able to collect the amount of funding they had in a time of recession, when most companies are weary to invest in experimental projects. In light of this, both Tim and Martin considered the reaction of the Solar Decathlon’s organisation to their dropping out rather funny: the organisation wanted to know

if they ever considered being fully funded by companies. What does this all mean for the students? While their big dream of realising the ReVolt House has gone up in smoke, most can still continue with their thesis. Fortunately not all of their time and energy will go to waste. Both Tim and Martin have half a year to spare and will try to bide their time through internships, but they would rather spend that time constructing the ReVolt House, which would’ve been a milestone, not just for them personally, but also for the Faculty.

For more info: revolthouse.com

The Dean´s Response Karin Laglas: “I sincerely regret having to stop the ReVolt House project. It could have served as a good example for our students and for the development of sustainable architecture. The competition brings together architecture, energy, solar systems, construction, sustainability, innovation, comfort, viability, social awareness and application. Indeed, these days architects will increasingly encounter this kind of integrated assignments in practice. Despite this disappointing decision, the team still has my full support and I am very proud of what they did manage to achieve. I would also like to thank the companies that had pledged their support.”

UPCOMING 5

EXPORTING SUPERHEROES SNEAK PREVIEW OF THE IABR BY WING (YINJUN WENG)

FINALLY, IT’S TIME TO UNVEIL THE GRAND SHOW. THE CHAIR OF DESIGN AS POLITICS AT TU DELFT IS GIVING THEIR FINAL TOUCHES ON THE EXHIBITION IN THE 5TH INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURE BIENNALE ROTTERDAM (IABR). B NIEUWS TALKS TO PROF. WOUTER VANSTIPHOUT AND BRINGS YOU A SNEAK PREVIEW OF THE EXHIBITION.

The Export Paradox It all started with a puzzling paradox that has long intrigued Wouter Vanstiphout and his fellow researchers. For years, there has been a hype of exporting Dutch expertise in architecture and urban planning across the globe. Such export is no longer limited in the engagement of Dutch practice in foreign countries. It is now also being promoted and outsourced by architecture institutions and organizations such as NAi and IABR. ‘Dutch architects and planners have huge reputations abroad. They are widely welcomed as if they are superheroes coming from outer space to teach lessons’, says Vanstiphout. 'While NAi now acts as an impresario, making deals with Chinese project developers, IABR is doing the same by brokering deals on high political level in São Paulo and Istanbul.’ However, despite the exciting image of Holland as a super planning country, the architectural infrastructure and practice within the country is in fact shrinking under the influence of enormous budget cuts. ‘The paradox lies between the expanding reputation and engagement abroad and a shrinking industry within the country’, says Vanstiphout. ‘Quite often the Dutch are exporting yesterday’s models to other countries. The Dutch need to redefine themselves and regain the ability to innovate, in order to sustain its charisma as a super planning laboratory country. Just exporting the planning charisma as a marketing strategy is simply not enough’. Moreover, the increasing Dutch practice abroad is also resulting in a strange trade. While countries in Asia and South America begin to embrace modernity brought by the Dutch architects and planners, the Dutch tend to bring back a nostalgic image of the world outside filled with orientalism and exoticism. Vanstiphout concludes: ‘It seems as if we are trading our modernity for their wild unfettered urbanization.’ Are We The World? Echoing the theme ‘making city’, the chair of Design as Politics aims to raise the question on the paradoxical situation of Dutch planning in the 5th IABR. The chair will publish a collection of research conducted both inside the chair and through collaboration with other researchers at TU Delft. Titled ‘Are we the world?’, the research publication will be the 6th issue of the Design and Politics series. It offers a historical narrative of the Dutch planning export paradox, 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. To further examine the ongoing injection of Dutch models in other countries, the chair brings together intellectuals from different backgrounds who are able to reflect the Dutch practice in their own cities. Ekim Tan, for instance, contributes her research on Istanbul to the book, which tries to translate the Dutch development showcased in Almere into a new kind of planning system for Istanbul. Roberto Rocco also

joins the discussion and states in his manifesto that the crucial issue in São Paulo is a lack of democracy instead of a technical or spatial problem in planning. According to Prof. Vanstiphout, their studies have become valuable assets for the research. Their background, together with their practice in the Netherlands, has led to a much more inspiring exchange of ideas. In the end, the book is calling for more political engagement of architecture and urbanism, which echoes the spirit of the chair of Design as Politics. ‘Design should become a political tool in a positive way. The book is a plea for more democracy, emancipation and selfdetermination, in which planning should and can play a role’, says Vanstiphout.

The Biennale Show The Design as Politics chair will present their research in different forms at the Rotterdam Biennale. There will be firstly a narrative of historical events where urban unrest and planning intersect, in order to reveal the ties between design and politics. These will be represented in eight three dimensional tableaux that look like hybrids of altarpieces and movie posters. The ‘ghost of the lafayette park’ for example, will tell a dark story of how Mies van de Rohe’s planning in Detroit triggered devastating riots in the 60s. The five cities - Istanbul, Detroit, São Paulo, Rotterdam and Amsterdam - will be presented in five huge panoramas of allegorical paintings, which illustrate not only the physical city spaces, but also their political landscape behind it. A selection of student projects will be included in the exhibition as well. They are the graduation and PhD projects conducted in the chair in the past two years, from reuse of a Panoptical Prison in Rotterdam to a housing project on the roofs of the office buildings in the City of London. Lastly, the chair is trying to set up a temporary design studio at the Biennale. Prof. Vanstiphout explains: ‘We would like to move our studio there. For two months, the students can work in Rotterdam, practically in the scene of the Biennale, and the visitors can see how the projects and research are done in real life.’ For more info: iabr.nl designaspolitics.wordpress.com

IABR Exhibition - Design as Politics Exhibition: 20th April - 7th July | Hofbogen, Rotterdam Book Release: 24th April | NAi, Rotterdam

6 BK IN DEPTH

B NIEUWS 08 2 APRIL 2012

ARE YOU PLANNING TO TAKE THE MASTER’S PROGRAMME IN ARCHITECTURE, URBANISM AND BUILDING SCIENCES? ARE YOU GETTING LOST AMONGST ALL THE TRACKS AND STUDIOS? THEN MARK YOUR CALENDER NOW FOR THE COMING MASTER EVENT AT THE ARCHITECTURE FACULTY! BY WING (YINJUN WENG) & IVAN THUNG

On 1st May, you will find out all about Master’s

24th April

16:30-21:00

General Presentation of Master Programme

programmes in 'Architecture, Urbanism and Building

TU Delft including Architecture, Urbanism &

Sciences' and a new Master's programme in

Building Sciences + Geomatics

'Geomatics'. Different tracks, including Architecture, Urbanism, Real Estate and Housing, Building

1st May

Technology, Landscape Architecture and Geomatics,

16:00-16:30

Aula TU

General Presentation of Master Programme

Room A

General Presentation for HBO Students

Room B

will give introductions in Room A. Zuidserre will

16:35-16:55

Presentation - Landscape Architecture

Room A

host an information market at which the different

17:00-17:20

Presentation - Urbanism

Room A

graduation studios in each track will present

17:25-17:45

Presentation - Geomatics

Room A

themselves. Don't miss it!

17:50-18:10

Presentation - Building Technology

Room A

18:15-18:35

Presentation - Real Estate & Housing

Room A

18:40-19:10

Presentation - Architecture

Room A

16:00-19:30

Information Market

Zuidserre

cture

e Archite

gy

lo Techno

RE+

Real Estate Management

ing

Housing

H

Urba nism

Arc h i tec tur e

The Why Factory

Design & Construction Management

Design as Politics

k Trac

Architectural Engineering

Complex Cities & Regions in Transformation

k Trac

Track

Explorelab also hosts: - Design as Politics - Veldacademy - Delta Interventions

RMIT

Urban Area Development

Delta Interventions

d uil

Computational Architecture

Urban Regeneration

kB

Hybrid Buildings

c Tra

Architecture & Dwelling

Hyperbody

Design & Technology

dscap

Vertical Cities Asia

Border Conditions & Territories

Hybrid Landscape

Lan

Explorelab

The Public Realm

Materialisation and Design Development

k Trac

Interiors, Buildings & Cities

Geomatics

NE W !

Master Architecture, Urbanism & Building Sciences

Master Geomatics

7

The Public Realm The Studios Public Realm address the contemporary & future meaning of the public domain as realm of (ex)change in an urbanized society, as ‘place where strangers meet’. They focus on how new architectural models, typologies, programmes, and design strategies can be developed to meet society’s cultural, social and political needs.

Border The BC&T program focuses on the study Conditions & of complex spatial Territories mechanisms and systems within the contemporary city, as they constitute the theoretical and contextual basis of architectural interventions. We encourage students to search and cross the border between objective and subjective knowledge, between rationality and intuition, between theory and design.

Hyperbody

In this studio, students will investigate the architecture of dwelling against the background of changing lifestyles and new technologies which make up our everyday environment. Students are to develop new spatial configurations and sustainable typologies as well as attractive and imaginative designs suited to 21st century living.

Hyperbody aims to implement innovative architecture with state-of-the-art material and information logistics. Students will be introduced to the basics of Non-standard & Interactive Architecture (NS&IA) and later advance their expertise in parametric and scripting-based design. Worldwide renowned guest lecturers and tutors will give both theoretical lectures and practical workshops.

The studio Materialisation and Design Development emphasizes the importance of the craft to develop ideas from paper to material reality, from concept to mature designs. Any architectural work starts with an idea. However, developing this design offers you an ocean of design-input and inspiration. That is what we offer students to discover.

The studio offers subjects such as product design, material research, building physics, structural mechanics, computation and model, and production techniques. Students will choose for architecture as a complete design Architectural discipline in which technical possibilities Engineering are an inspiration and an important contribution to the architectural design.

RMIT projects focus on the renovation of built heritage, on the architectural intervention in existing buildings and structures, thereby transforming what we know and what we see. Nothing comes from nothing: everything is interwoven with its context and culture. How to deal with given physics and aesthetics?

Hybrid Building

Computational Architecture focuses on computational design and fabrication technologies in the field of architecture with the goal of teaching cutting-edge design technologies and new design tools, as well as new design paradigms in architecture. Prior expertise in computational design may be beneficial but is not required.

Design & Construction Management

Architecture & Dwelling

RMIT

DCM targets the management of complex design and construction processes at the level of buildings. Students look at innovative ways of collaboration among the increasing number of parties involved. You will learn to develop and apply theories, methods and instruments. Main topics are integration, collaboration, procurement, changing roles, design teams, ICT tools and supply chain.

Computational Architecture

Our subject is contemporary cities and how we strategically guide their development. Cities today are hubs in global processes that profoundly affect local economies and societies. Our mission is to offer the best education in this theme related to spatial planning, regional planning, urban design, development and research.

Explorelab is an exceptional thesis laboratory for students with a unique fascination which cannot be explored in any of the ‘regular’ thesis labs. Although Explore lab is open for students from all tracks, it is aimed for highly motivated students with an obsessive interest in a specific question and an exceptional ability to lead themselves and others in theoretical and design research.

This studio focuses on the highly relevant issue of management and (re) development of housing. Graduation projects encompass a wide variety of topics and approaches, ranging from (inter)national housing policies to local housing Housing strategies. All projects have in common that they contribute to sustainable housing solutions and, ultimately, satisfied residents.

Design and research of the studio is concentrated on methods of urban design, sustainable development, heritage preservation, and strategic planning . Students deal with individual projects in a collective setting of general urban transformation processes. Projects can be chosen by students in central urban, old industrial, pre-war, post-war housing areas and Urban other sectors.

The Why Factory (T?F), which describes itself as a ‘think tank on urban futures’, focuses The Why on exploring the future of the city in all its Factory possible manifestations. T?F offers several studios that include highly integrated research and design elements. Students complete both long-term projects on various scales as well as shorter studies and workshops, all of which are linked to visions of the city.

Vertical Cities Asia

The interdisciplinary (architecture & Urbanism) Delta Interventions studio deals with the necessary transformation of the Dutch delta. The studio develops strategies for increased water-safety, stronger spatial identities and new cohesion of cities and landscapes. Interventions on different scales are necessary to create new, strong and beautiful urban delta landscapes.

This studio deals with the Design as role of city politics, urbanPolitics ism and architecture. It is not just about making a spatial design, but also about the development of a strategy in which the design is specifically used to reach the goals set. Specific educational goals and tutoring will be formulated and offered, depending on what track participating students follow.

The Design & Technology studio focuses on the innovative and sustainable design of elements, components and (sub) systems of building structures and looks at their relationship to architecture. The studio stresses the importance of research into technologies and focuses on the themes such as Computation & Performance, Green Building Innovation Design & and Facade Design.

Complex Cities & Regions in Transformation

Regeneration

Delta Interventions

Explorelab

The studio will prepare entries for the competition for a sustainable design for a community of 100.000 people living and working on a 1 km2 territory within the metropolitan area of Beijing, China. Parallel to the studio work, a series of specific lectures will be offered on theory, methodology and cultural and urban characteristics of the global region of the Far East.

Technology

Materialisation and Design Development Hybrid Building aims to bring up different combinations of types of space, functions and constructive systems in order to create opportunities for alternative social and urban dynamics. The master programme focuses on the design project as key to anticipate future transformations of the city while reflecting on its urban context and history.

The urban, landscape, and technological developments in our society demand a fundamentally new vision of the organization and form of the (Dutch) landscape. Hybrid Landscapes combine and interweave a diversity of functions, compositions, spatial types and construction systems. The task of designing such a landscape on an intermediate scale is geared both to a specific project and Hybrid to a wider Landscape strategy. REM concerns the optimal alignment between supply and demand for real estate on three levels: society, organisaReal Estate tion and individual. Graduation research Management includes successful real estate strategies (offices, health care, education and municipal real estate), the connection between corporations and cities, and how to cope with vacant buildings.

Urban Area Development A variety of urban interventions vital to the city can be subject of graduation projects in the UAD-lab. Students are challenged to learn new ways of thinking and working, be able to get to the bottom of problems in their mutual coherence and be able to provide creative solutions.

Geomatics is a relatively new science concerned with the analysis, acquisition, management, and visualisation of geographic data with the aim of gaining knowledge and better understanding of the built and natural environments. The Master’s programme in Geomatics provides you with the necessary knowledge and expertise to develop better solutions for solving real-world problems in an innovative way.

* Geomatics

EW

The studio focuses on the public interior – the space that is publicly accessible and facilitates both a specific function and an informal public use. Students are encouraged to look for patterns in the existing fabric and community, keeping in mind that interiors, buildings and cities are expressions of an anonymous transactional process and a progression of cultural activities.

N

Interiors, Buildings and Cities

For more info: aub.msc.tudelft.nl/studios *tudelft.nl/en/study/master-of-science/master-programmes/geomatics

8 PROJECT FORM FOLLOWS WIND AND DAYLIGHT BY DANIEL VAN KERSBERGEN

THE ENERGY CONSUMPTION BY BUILDINGS ACCOUNTS FOR MORE THAN A THIRD OF THE YEARLY CONSUMED ENERGY IN THE WORLD. SEVENTY PERCENT OF THIS ENERGY IS USED FOR HEATING, COOLING, VENTILATION AND LIGHTING OF THE INTERIOR SPACES OF THESE BUILDINGS. THIS HAPPENS OFTEN IN A VERY INEFFICIENT MANNER. . The overall goal of this research is to investigate the passive use of on-site energy to create passive climate comfort. Usually these passive strategies are not integrated into the early design process but added to the building design in a later stage. The main focus of this building technology research is to integrate sustainability concepts into the decisions making process of the building design. I foresee a future, where the on-site renewable energy sources are being used to passively climatise buildings and the build environment. We have to strive for innovative and energy efficient solutions to push the boundaries of the way buildings are climatised in the future. My architectural design for the Schiphol Interchange Station is used as a test case to apply this research. Looking beyond the energy consumption of the building and the needs of its inhabitants to the architectural design and the way the user wants to use the interior space, the climatic system and architectural design can be designed into one integral system. This not only passively provides the building with the required amount of heating, cooling, ventilation and daylight but also provides a climate, in which the user can work, live and travel in a pleasant, safe and efficient way. Wind and daylight were selected as two main research topics. The envelope of the building filters the wind and daylight energy to climatise the building in a passive way. The wind research has transformed the building envelope on the overall scale while the daylight research has transformed the building envelope on a local scale. By running numerous quantitative and qualitative analyses and tests, both digitally and physically, I have developed a sustainable system that meets the design requirements by improving the shape and design of the building envelope. The wind research has changed the original shape of the building skin in such a way that the wind over the top of the building can naturally ventilate the entire building. The final result of the daylight research is a diagrid-based roof system, which brings different kinds of light into the building where it is needed. Diffuse light is provided into the interior of the building, either through the inclined geometry of the roof beams or through translucent materials for the roof panels. There are great potentials for increasing the energy related sustainability of the building by integrating wind, natural ventilation and daylight concepts early on in the decision making process of the building design. This way, buildings with high climatic comfort, pleasant and safe spaces and a low carbon footprint can be achieved. Daniel van Kersbergen graduated in Architecture and Building Technology and won the Ufd-Cofely Energy Efficiency Award for his project.

B NIEUWS 01 MAAND 2011

9 TUTOR In a time when professional figures develop toward high levels of disciplinary specialization, integrating focused engineering knowledge and the overall architectural conception is a task of increasing importance. Doing this in a field of urgent matter like sustainable design becomes crucial. From this point of view, the value of Daniel van Kersbergen’s graduation project is double-sided and has to do with the broad topic of performancedriven design as well as with specific strategies for sustainability concerning passive climate comfort.

Research and design workflow for the roof system of the Schiphol Interchange Station

Looking at the first one, it must be noticed that in architectural practice and academy, there is a near unanimous consent given to the importance of the early phase of the design, where the most influential design decisions are actually taken. Nevertheless, there is a rather high discrepancy between the breadth of performances expected in the final design (which are complex and multidisciplinary) and the limited number of disciplines involved in the early phase of the traditional design process. The process developed by Daniel van Kersbergen tries to overcome this limitation and integrates a number of engineering expertises in order to shape the architectural concept. Specifically focusing on passive climatic comfort, this has been achieved by integrating early on in the process specialized consultancies; and performing a large range of numeric analysis by means of digital simulations as well as physical measurements on rapid prototyped models.

Daylight modulated by roof system in the Platforms and Kiss & Ride area

Improvement of building shape based on wind and ventilation analysis

Section through the Schiphol Interchange Station showing the daylight modulating envelope

The information gained by evaluating design alternatives has iteratively allowed feedback loops with new design variations, toward the final design. Overcoming the specificities of the Schiphol Interchange Station (used as design case study), explicit knowledge has been structured for re-usability in future explorations. Facing the urgent need for energy efficient specific solutions in the building sector, this is surely a contribution appreciated in the context of the UfD-Cofely Energy Efficiency Award. However, even larger importance in relation to innovation and future applicability (key criteria of the Award) can be attributed to the underlying design method. Considering the challenge of integrating measurable criteria in a complex interdisciplinary process, the overall research externalizes a systematic approach for early performance evaluations. In its nature, this outcome aims at favouring new performancedriven design processes, in which aesthetic, functionality and engineering aspects converge during the design conception of an energy-efficient built environment. Michela Turrin Teacher and researcher at the Chair of Technical Design and Informatics

10 RESEARCH

B NIEUWS 08 2 APRIL 2012

URBAN LITERACY

LITERATURE AND WRITING ARE NOT THE FIRST THINGS THAT COME TO MIND WHEN PEOPLE DISCUSS ARCHITECTURE. BUT SOME GREAT ARCHITECTS ARE ALSO GREAT WRITERS, AND ARCHITECTURE FEATURES PROMINENTLY IN MANY GREAT NOVELS. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR KLASKE HAVIK DECIDED TO RESEARCH THE WAY THESE WRITERS DESCRIBE AND USE ARCHITECTURAL SPACES IN THEIR WORK. WITH HER THESIS NOW FINISHED AND READY TO GO TO PRINT, WE DECIDED TO CATCH UP WITH HER AND FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HER RESEARCH. BY PETER SMISEK

KLASKE HAVIK Klaske Havik is an architect and writer. She writes regularly for magazines in the Netherlands and Nordic countries and is an editor of OASE, Journal for architecture. As assistant professor of architecture at Delft University of Technology, she teaches the graduation master studio Public Realm alongside courses in architecture theory and literature. She co-edited the anthology Architectural Positions: Architecture, Modernity and the Public Sphere (SUN, 2009). Her poems have been published in a number of Dutch poetry collections.

Your research deals with Urban Literacy, which is explained on the TU Delft website very briefly as finding an alternative way to read the city using literary techniques, but also hints at its application in urban regeneration. How did you arrive at this topic? Actually, since my time as a student here, I’ve been very interested in the experience of architecture and the role of the user and I’ve always sought ways to address that. These topics are somewhat absent in the architectural debate and in our education here. I also like literature: in poems, novels and stories, we find great descriptions of how people experience architecture, urban places and landscapes. Even though these texts are mostly not written from the perspective of the architect, they tell a lot about places and architecture. My whole research project started from this insight; that there is a possibility, through literature, to investigate how people experience architecture. I wondered if there was also a possibility to use the literary gaze, or the approach of a writer, to design architecture and urban space. What kind of methods and instruments can we find there? Even if this might seem far-fetched, I argue that there is a need for such an approach. For instance, the regeneration of old industrial areas is, at this moment, a very topical and impor-

tant task. As a practicing architect I have been dealing with such sites, and in this context I realized that the role of architects was changing. The complex client structure, which involved many users, the specificity of the site with its remarkable history, changed the kind of questions we were facing. We noticed that in this field of urban regeneration, there was a question of how do we deal with the story of such a site. How could we use the experience and the creativity of the user in the development of the site? I started my research saying that I would discuss this urban regeneration issue by means of a literary approach, but throughout the research this was somehow put aside and I decided to focus on literature in general, and whether this was a fruitful approach to spatial tasks at large. So what instruments, techniques and methods can we derive from literature? Urban regeneration became a secondary focus, as a field in which the approach can become operational. The research itself focuses on what kinds of insights and instruments literature has to offer in regard to three aspects: experience, use and imagination. In literary terms, they relate to the subject-object, writer-reader, and reality-fiction relationship. These three focal points have resulted in three literary approaches that are described in my thesis “Urban Literacy” which derives from this notion of urban regeneration: description, transcription and

prescription. British urban theorist, Charles Landry, searched for tools for urban innovation in his book “The Creative City” (2000). Amongst other tools, he proposes “urban literacy”, suggesting we need a kind of literacy (it’s a metaphor, of course) to be able to “read” the city from a different perspectives, in order to be able to use the insights from the inhabitants, users, artists and whoever is dealing with the city, and to find a new way of thinking about it. You mentioned Charles Landry partly inspired your research. But you also mentioned that you wanted to investigate writers who weren’t architects or theorists. Did you manage to find a balance? I think so. Each chapter begins with how these particular notions; description, transcription and prescription, are present in literature. In “Description”, for instance, you find very careful and detailed observations of the perception of spaces. I mention, for example, Italo Calvino’s “Invisible Cities”, which is a very detailed observation of urban phenomena, but also “The Discovery of Heaven” by Dutch novelist Harry Mulisch . “Transcription” discusses in which ways social practices are carried out in architecture and the interactivity between writer and reader. In this chapter you find literary accounts of the socail use of urban spaces as well the experimental literary practices of Georges Perec and James Joyce. In “Prescription”, I

11 You were not a full-time PhD student, you also write for the magazine OASE and are an assistant professor at the faculty. How did you manage your time? First condition is that you’re really motivated and enthusiastic. I loved working on it, ant it kept me going. It was a privilege to work on this, also if it meant spending weekends and holidays writing. For me it was very fruitful to do different things parallel to each other. Doing graduation studios, seminars, lectures. It was really useful, even if it wasn’t directly related to my research, because the discussions with colleagues and students, you really get to solidify your positions and seeing what kind of responses you get. I’m not even sure I would have managed to do this as a full-time PhD student.

Klaske Havik’s notes made during her research

“I WONDERED IF THERE WAS ALSO A POSSIBILITY TO USE THE LITERARY GAZE, OR THE APPROACH OF A WRITER, TO DESIGN ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN SPACE.” discuss surrealism and magic realism and other literary texts which have to do with the balance between reality and imagination - seeking the borders between them. In the second part of each chapter I transcribe the notions discussed in literature to spatial theory. There are essentially three discourses. “Description” deals with phenomenology, lived experience and poetics of space. “Transcription” is about social-spacial practices where you’ll find discussions on Henri Lefebvre, Michel de Certeau and spatial practices, as well as the theory of narrative by Paul Ricoeur. The third part, “Prescription”, then discusses scenarios and the literary notion of chronotope, the temporalspatial construction that can be distinguished in novels, which is also an interesting method that could be applied in architecture. The third part of each chapter discusses the architectural

implications. Here, the three main protagonists, so to speak, are Steven Holl, Bernard Tschumi and Rem Koolhaas. The last part of each chapter then describes the exercises we conducted with students based on these techniques. We were able to test these approaches with students from the Public Realm, Border Conditions and Explorelab graduation studios, and in the MSc2 course on City and Literature which I initiated. How was your work with students? Was this simply a testing ground for you, or did you feed some of the results back into your research? I started back in 2005. As an assistant professor at the faculty, I was able to combine research and teaching. Therefore it was possible for me, without imposing my views on the students; to try out how the issues of perception or of user-inspired design could be used in the studios. Of course, you don’t study architecture to deal with novels and language.

Therefore I needed to find out to what extent the literary approach was interesting and useful for the students.The MSc 2 Elective course City and Literature was examplary, as this focused particularly on the topic. Each semester we slightly altered the direction of the course, so one time we focused on Gaston Bachelard and “The Poetics of Space”, while another time we investigated surrealist practices in architecture and literature. We had a lot of discussions, readings and, importantly, creative writing exercises, where students described the faculty or their home from the point of view of different characters or focusing on a specific sense. At the end of the seminar, students produced a magazine, sometimes with essays and sometimes with these creative writings. The MSc2 course was a very good laboratory where I offered some theoretical positions and practical, designrelated exercises. Luckily, the students were very enthusiastic and helpful.

Now that your thesis is finished and almost ready to go to print will your future research focus on urban literacy as well? I would still like to do more on this topic. It is a framework, and it includes many theories and approaches, so it could be extended. But I would also like to get back to this question on urban regeneration. I have mentioned it a few times, but the thesis is mostly theoretical. Now I would like to do some more fieldwork based research, either as part of studios, or as a separate research. And then to see how this framework becomes operational when addressing specific sites.

INFO Klaske Havik’s PhD thesis Urban Literacy. A Scriptive Approach to the Experience, Use and Imagination of Place will be defended at the Aula at Wednesday April 25, 2012, at 12:00. After the thesis defense, a round table discussion with: Umberto Barbieri (TU Delft), Juhani Pallasmaa (HUT Helsinki), Bart Keunen (Ugent), Katja Grillner (KTH Stockholm), Wim van den Bergh (RWTH Aachen), Michiel Riedijk (TUDelft), moderators Klaske Havik and Tom Avermaete. will take place in the Blue Room of the Central Library at 3:00PM. This is the first in a series of doctoral debates, organized by the Department of Architecture.

12 BK IN FOCUS

B NIEUWS 08 2 APRIL 2012

ZUIDAS,

MORE THAN BUSINESS? HOW DO WE MAKE FUTURE CITIES? HOW DO WE PLAN AREAS IN A CONDITION CHARACTERIZED BY CRISIS, EMPTY BUILDINGS AND STAGNATING PROPERTY MARKETS? INDEED, THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS FOR THE NEXT INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURE BIENNALE ROTTERDAM, BUT ALSO QUESTIONS THAT ARE VERY RELEVANT FOR DE ZUIDAS. BY IVAN THUNG DELFT — The Zuidas is a newly developed business district close to Amsterdam that aims to be a modern city centre and serious competition to business districts like the Canary Wharf in London and La Défense in Paris.

to have an area that is that mono-functionally oriented. So how to diversify in this context? What we were proposing were flexible buildings that allows that users change its function. Now there are many corporate buildings, but we need buildings that can have different kind of occupations.” Another problem is that at the moment, the Zuidas is quite boring. Machedon: “Our strategy was to get the characteristics of Amsterdam into the Zuidas. That means finding places for small offices and young creative people. Now the urban blocks in the Zuidas are mostly turned inwards. There are interior streets and there is interior shopping but these functions

In an initiative of the Ministry of Infrastructure in collaboration with the Projectbureau Zuidas, the Winter School brought together students of Bouwkunde Delft, the Architecture Association of London and the Yale School of Architecture and invited them to propose a vision for the Zuidas. The input of the students was highly appreciated. “I think they just wanted some fresh ideas from young people”, says Emilia Machedon, a participating student from TU THE BUSINESS Delft.

building obsolete. The transaction could then be relocated to a virtual trade centre in Zuidas. Another idea was the installation of a check-in point for Schiphol in the Zuidas where businesspeople could drop off their luggage, which enables a seamless connection to the airport.

Surprisingly, the other schools worked very differently. Machedon: “We were very concerned with branding and the economical aspect. The Yale students however worked really liked architectural designers. Their architectural approach was mainly focused on the development of new business block typologies. Students from the AA on the other hand were DISTRICT SEEMS TO predominantly busy with urban morphology. Their BE THE LAST BASTION OF strategy was to focus on Because of the current MONO-FUNCTIONALISM the periphery of the uncertainty due to the Zuidas and to better economic crisis, students had to should be transferred the street to connect it to Amsterdam’s urban present a vision that is both create a lively environment.” tissue.” ambitious and resilient to financial turmoil. An important The students made some other Was one approach more succesquestion was: what should a proposals for new functions that sful than the others? “In the end, business district be like in the might give the Zuidas a competibecause the event was organized 21st century? tive edge to other business in the Netherlands, I think the districts. The introduction of a Delft team, that was really While most urbanists recognize virtual flower trade centre could proposing a strategic vision, the value of multifunctional for example attract a lot of satisfied the expectations most. developments, the business activity. This trade centre is at the The jury was a bit surprised that district as a type seems to be the moment stuck at its current we took this branding perspeclast bastion of mono-functionalocation in Aalsmeer where the tive, but quite liked it. It could lism. “In the Zuidas there are activities are accomodated in a sell, they said.” mainly financial institutions and huge industrial building because legal services”, says Machedon, a the traders actually need to see From April 2012 on the students’ participating student. “When the flowers. However, new results will be presented in Internatisomething goes wrong in those technologies could enable seeing onal Architecture Biennale Making sectors, the whole area collapses. the physical flowers virtually City at the Netherlands Architecture In the long term, it is not feasible which would make the Aalsmeer Institute in Rotterdam.

By Udo Geisler, Flickr (CC)

BK IN FOCUS 13

HERIJKING URBANISM:

EENHEID IN VERSCHEIDENHEID URBANISM MOET HERIJKEN EN ONDERGAAT EEN REORGANISATIE. AFDELINGSVOORZITTER MACHIEL VAN DORST ONDERSCHRIJFT DE SPANNENDE TIJD DIE SOMMIGE URBANISM MEDEWERKERS DOORMAKEN EN ZIET DE WERKDRUK TOENEMEN. TOCH ZIET HIJ OOK DE POSITIEVE KANTEN VAN HET HELE PROCES. ‘DE HERIJKING HEEFT BIJ URBANISM OOK VOOR EEN CULTUURVERANDERING GEZORGD. WE WERKEN VEEL MEER SAMEN, KENNEN ELKAAR BETER EN HET VERSTERKT HET AFDELINGSGEVOEL.’ DOOR ANNE DE HAIJ Samenwerking ‘Door natuurlijk verloop en het niet verlengen van tijdelijke contracten zijn leerstoelen vorig jaren al in omvang gekrompen. Tegelijkertijd is de hoeveelheid onderzoek en onderwijs toegenomen. De trend is om met minder mensen meer werk te verrichten,’ meent Van Dorst. De bezuinigingen en huidige maatschappelijke ontwikkelingen in onderwijs en onderzoek creëren nieuwe taken voor onderzoekers en docenten. ‘De enige oplossing om deze toename in werkdruk het hoofd te bieden is betere samenwerking. En dat heeft ons uiteindelijk ook veel opgeleverd. We denken en werken nu echt als een afdeling.’

voor specialismes, juist de koplopers die niet altijd direct te plaatsen zijn, maken ons tot een innovatieve universiteit. De optelsom is onderzoek naar zowel regionale planning in nietwesterse steden als de doorsnede van een helofytenfilter in een Hollandse nieuwbouwwijk.’ Voor het Urbanism onderzoek zijn de promovendi van groot belang. ‘Dit jaar hebben we maar liefst twaalf promoties. Meer dan voorheen is ook de aansluiting van promotie onderzoek bij het bestaande onderzoeksprogramma prioriteit. Zij zullen uiteraard excelleren in een niche, maar wel in een niche die past bij onze focus. Eenheid in verscheidenheid, zou ik dat willen noemen’, aldus van Dorst.

Meer onderwijs Urbanism is in de afgelopen jaren meer onderwijs gaan aanbieden met meer inzet van minder medewerkers. ‘We verzorgen nu onderwijs in de door de jaren heen gegroeide Urbanism master track, de nieuwe Landscape Architecture master track en een European Postgraduate Masters in Urbanism. Nu The Why Factory een sectie van de afdeling Urbanism is, verzorgen we via T?F ook onderwijs in de Architecture master track. Om de kwaliteit van dit onderwijs te borgen, móet je de krachten wel bundelen en samen optrekken.’

Externe financiering Dat onderzoek steeds vaker uit tweede en derde geldstromen moet worden gefinancierd, heeft ook voor de nodige samenwerking gezorgd. ‘Een Europese subsidie vraag je niet in je eentje aan. Je zoekt dan naar expertise binnen en buiten je afdeling, en ook buiten de faculteit.’ De afdeling vindt gelukkig steeds vaker externe financiering voor onderzoeksprojecten en praat ook met externe partijen over cofinanciering van leerstoelen. Alhoewel de betrokken partijen het academisch milieu volledig respecteren, is het verbinden van privaat of particulier geld aan een leerstoel geen sinecure. Je begeeft je op een continuüm van volledige academische vrijheid en het tegemoet komen aan wensen van de financier. Van Dorst: ‘Je kan bovendien nooit een uitspraak doen over de inhoud van onderzoeksresultaat. Dat vraagt een open en tolerante houding van de betrokken partijen.’ Externe financiering van leerstoelen is aan de orde bij de leerstoelen Cultuurhistorie en

Focus in onderzoek De afdeling heeft nu één onderzoeksprogramma ‘Urbanism’, waarbinnen vier deelprogramma’s [U-Lab, Randstad Spatial Planning, Urban Landscape Architecture en The Why Factory, RED] bestaan. Door het onderzoek als één programma te benaderen, ontstaan interessante dwarsverbanden. Van Dorst: ‘Maar dat betekent niet dat er geen ruimte meer is

Ontwerp en Ontwerp en Politiek. Van Dorst: ‘En met de Van Eesteren-Fluck & Van Lohuizen Stichting praten we over de mogelijke voortzetting van de voormalige leerstoel Stad en Regio.’ Environmental Technology and Design Twee leerstoelen (Technische Ecologie en Methoden en Environmental Design) worden samengevoegd tot één nieuwe leerstoel ‘Environmental Technology and Design’. De leerstoel krijgt een nieuwe hoogleraar, waarvoor inmiddels een BAC (Benoemingen Advies Commissie) actief is. De leerstoel kent wel minder FTE dan de twee afzonderlijke leerstoelen tezamen. Dit heeft dus een kleine reorganisatie tot gevolg. Van Dorst: ‘We zijn direct met medewerkers in gesprek gegaan over de nieuwe leerstoel. Naar aanleiding van die gesprekken concludeerden enkele medewerkers zelf dat zij hun carrière liever elders voortzetten. Dit heeft er aan bijgedragen dat de samenvoeging uiteindelijk minder complex verloopt.’ Onzekerheid Een aantal mensen verkeert desondanks al lange tijd in onzekerheid over hun toekomst

bij de nieuwe leerstoel. ‘Reorganisaties verlopen soms traag, omdat veel partijen inzage hebben in het proces of meebeslissen. De procedures zijn ordentelijk, maar het ontbreekt aan een goede tijdsplanning. Vanuit het perspectief van medezeggenschap is dat natuurlijk goed, maar voor medewerkers levert dat ook stress en onzekerheid op.’ De enige in zijn soort Van Dorst erkent dus de soms direct persoonlijke negatieve gevolgen van financiële herijking en reorganisatie, maar wil ook werken aan een afdeling met een goede toekomst. Van Dorst: ‘De enige in zijn soort in Nederland.’ Het is een feit dat de eerste geldstroom voor onderzoek minder wordt en het onderwijs van topniveau moet zijn om de concurrentie op mondiale schaal aan te kunnen. ‘Uiteindelijk bestaan we dus dankzij de buitenwereld en de buitenwereld verwacht een helder beeld van ons maatschappelijk belang en onze veerkracht. Dat is het startpunt van onze cultuuromslag geweest.’ Go to bk.tudelft.nl/herijking and switch to English pages to read this interview in English.

Vragen? U kunt bij de OdC terecht! De Onderdeelcommissie (OdC) van de faculteit Bouwkunde behartigt de belangen van al het bouwkundepersoneel: van student-assistent tot MT-lid, van promovendus tot servicepunt medewerker. De OdC is een commissie van de Ondernemingsraad (OR) van de TU Delft. De OdC voert overleg met de decaan over o.a. de begroting, organisatieveranderingen, arbeidsomstandigheden, huisvesting en personeelsbeleid. De herijking is op dit moment een belangrij onderwerp waarover de OdC overleg voert met de decaan. Heb je een vraag? Neem gerust contact met ons op! Spreek ons aan in de gang of stuur een mailtje aan: [email protected] of [email protected]. Odc.bk.tudelft.nl

14 FORUM COO-RU On March 22, it seemed like the only thing on our collective minds was the public lecture by Bjarke Ingels in Rotterdam. Except I didn’t go, instead preferred staying here, at the faculty of Architecture in Delft. And now, I will present to you a list of reasons why it’s not really necessary to go to these talks. 1) It’s all been said before. If I want to see Bjarke Ingels, I can go to TED.com and watch it in my underpants. No need to go to Rotterdam and dress up. The jokes are always the same anyway, and he might add a few new projects sometimes, but the more things change, the more they stay the same. 2) I suffer from abandonment issues. Couple of years back I wanted to go see Zaha Hadid in Amsterdam, I even bought a monograph to prepare. Needless to say, she cancelled two weeks before the lecture. As Peter Cook once told me, starchitects tend to do this quite often these days. I wasn’t ready to have my heart broken again. 3) All these things are sold out so far in advance, and even when I did try to purchase tickets via NAi.nl in the past, these were already gone. Maybe I’m just that slow, or operate in another plane of existence. 4) There’s always something else to do anyway. From drinking White Russians in the aforementioned underpants, to attending a lecture by Satoshi Okada at our own faculty. I’ll admit the second part of Okada’s lecture was superboring, but at least it was free and it was here. How an architect can make a side show of his own buildings sleep-inducing, and the philosophy of Immanuel Kant interesting is beyond me, but at least I heard something new desu~. So, unless you want to see Zaha, or Bjarke, or Rem because you want to work as an intern at their office (hint: they’ll tell you to send your portfolio), save your time and money, go to TED or loan a book from the library and enjoy it in the comfort of your home. And you’ll still have time to learn from a sugoi Japanese architects.

Peter Smisek Editor

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Het gelijk van Riedijk Wat moet een architectuuropleiding haar studenten onderwijzen? Deze vraag kwam aan bod tijdens het symposium 'De kennis van de architect' op 3 februari. Professor Michiel Riedijk antwoordde: “De opleiding is waar je leert welke bril je op moet, welke schoenen je draagt en met welke woorden je praat. De rest leert de student wel in de praktijk.” De afgelopen edities van B Nieuws is er veel kritiek geweest op de inhoudelijke kwaliteit van de opleiding. Jaap Dawson vergeleek Bouwkunde met een conservatieve kerk en volgens Soscha Monteiro de Jesus gaat kwantiteit voor kwaliteit. Mijn ervaring is dat niet de kwaliteit centraal staat, maar de catechismus: Bouwkunde leert welke stellingen en dogma's je moet aanvaarden om te worden toegelaten tot het genootschap der architecten. Dit laat zich goed illustreren aan de hand van een voorbeeld. Afgelopen januari was ik aanwezig bij een Bsc3 presentatie. Een tweedejaars student presenteerde zijn project: rijwoningen met zadeldaken en een klassieke uitstraling. Maar net als alle bij alle studenten, zaten ook in dit project een aantal fouten. Fouten horen bij het leerproces. Echter, deze fouten waren onacceptabel: luiken die slechts een half raam bedekten, een centrale gang met kamers aan weerszijden gepropt in een beukmaat van vijf meter en als dieptepunt, een tweede verdieping die niet bereikbaar was, omdat er een muur voor de trap stond. Desgevraagd merkten andere tweedejaars studenten de fouten binnen enkele minuten op. In het commentaar van de beoordelende docenten werden deze overduidelijke fouten echter niet benoemd. Hun kritiek bestond uit: “Wow, mooie renders! Revit? Hoe lang doe je daar nou over?”, met als meest doortastende vraag: “Wat is er nou eigentijds aan jouw gevel?” De student kreeg uiteindelijk een zeven toebedeeld. Mogen wij deze student zijn fouten kwalijk nemen, als deze niet worden gecorrigeerd? Dit voorbeeld laat treffend twee dogma's zien die op deze faculteit heersen. Ten eerste de allesoverheersende obsessie van de presentatie, waaraan de inhoudelijke kwaliteit ondergeschikt is. Ten tweede de bevooroordeelde idolatrie van het

eigentijdse en het innovatieve: Bouwkunde-Delft prefereert originaliteit door inventie boven doorontwikkeling van conventie. Hoe ervaar je dit als student? Dat gaat als volgt: in het begin van je studie overvalt je het gevoel dat je (nog) niets van gebouwen begrijpt. Al jouw ervaring die je tijdens achttien jaar leven hebt opgedaan lijkt niet langer geldig. Je hebt het gevoel dat jouw docenten dingen zien die jij (nog) niet kunt waarnemen. Dit maakt je steeds onzekerder en je gaat daarom steeds meer tegen je docenten opkijken. De woorden die zij gebruiken begrijp je niet, maar bij de Bauhaus-oefeningen van Vormstudie krijg je al gauw door dat je hoger scoort wanneer je in dezelfde subjectieve, mistige taal gaat meepraten. Na verloop van tijd merk je zelf niet meer dat je een taal spreekt die voor een niet-ingewijde onbegrijpelijk is. Op deze leek wordt dan ook neergekeken: hij is degene die jouw concept niet begrijpt, die bloempotten in het kozijn zet en gordijnen ophangt voor het verdiepingshoge glas in zijn slaapkamer. En mocht hij de voorkeur geven aan een meer conventionele woonomgeving, dan is dat uit den boze. Klassieke en traditionele architectuur zijn immers niet gewenst. Wat je als student wel mag, wordt je vanaf het eerste jaar impliciet bijgebracht. De gebouwen waaraan je mag refereren, beperken zich tot die van de Moderne Beweging en hedendaagse architectuur zoals deze wordt gepresenteerd in magazines, jaarboeken en op websites. En dat terwijl de hedendaagse bouwpraktijk veel gevarieerder is. Ook wordt veel naar eigen werk

CARTOON BY THOMAS DE BOS

COLUMN

B NIEUWS 08 2 APRIL 2012

verwezen tijdens colleges. Is het toeval dat acht van de tien BSc2 projecten op gebouwen van NeutelingsRiedijk lijken? Een enkele keer wordt de voorkeur explicieter uitgesproken. Student Rutger zei tijdens de televisieuitzending van NOVA collegetour tegen Koolhaas: “Mijn docenten zeggen dat u God bent!”

Waar leidt dit naartoe? Onder de Bachelor studenten van mijn generatie bevindt zich een groot aantal 'zwevende kiezers.’ Deze kun je grofweg in twee groepen indelen. De eerste groep probeert zich door de eerste twee masterstudio's heen te worstelen, in de hoop daarna in vrijheid bij Explore-Lab af te studeren. Zelden doen zij twee studio's bij dezelfde leerstoel omdat ze daar de kennis die ze zoeken niet vinden. De tweede groep wordt gekenmerkt door wanhoop. Ze hebben het gevoel dat ze niets hebben geleerd (het Inolland gevoel) en twijfelen, zelfs na hun Bachelor nog, of Bouwkunde wel de juiste studiekeuze is geweest. Wat voor studenten kweekt deze opleiding? In combinatie met het bemoeilijken van langstuderen door externe factoren (bezuinigingen), staat dit systeem van oppervlakkige beoordeling, stilzwijgend conformeren van studenten en als objectiviteit vermomde subjectiviteit het ontwikkelen van een kritische houding in de weg. Dit leidt tot oppervlakkige architecten die weliswaar weten hoe ze zich moeten kleden en hoe ze moeten spreken maar geen besef van kwaliteit hebben. Krijgt professor Riedijk dan toch gelijk?

Dominique Vermeulen [email protected]

STREETS OF BK CITY 15 IN EVERY ISSUE WE ASK ONE QUESTION TO PEOPLE WE MEET IN THE CORRIDORS OF BK CITY. THE QUESTION THIS TIME WAS:

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO CHANGE IN YOUR DESIGN STUDIO?

Anne van Hout, MSc3 Explorelab Before my current studio, I studied in Interiors, where two Belgian architects, Jan de Vylder and Jo Taillieu, were given the freedom to come up with the assignment for their students by themselves, without other teachers from the Interior chair. The project was very enjoyable, and it might be a good idea to have more external tutors being able to decide what and how they teach.

Aldrin van Loon, MSc 4 Materialisation The studios themselves were not lacking. The Bachelor however, was far too broad: everything was dealt with superficially. There wasn’t enough emphasis on acquiring knowledge about materials. This knowledge would’ve been valuable at the start of my Masters.

Joris L. Hogeweg-Lek, MSc2 Van Gezel tot Meester I think it’s important to rise above the design project you’re working on and go into the generic aspects of the design process with your tutors. In my previous studio, RMIT, but also before, there is a very strong focus on the assignment. We should also learn how to be designers, and not how to design one particular building that you’ll never get to design anyway.

COLOFON B Nieuws is a four-weekly periodical of the Faculty of Architecture, TU Delft. Faculty of Architecture, BK City, Delft University of Technology Julianalaan 134, 2628 BL Delft room BG.Midden.140

Francis Liesting, MSc4 Explore Lab The Why Factory was an incredibly positive experience. It was very theoretical and topical, very abstract. However, it was a bit of a shame that at the end of the studio we hadn’t come to a real design. The research should be applied towards creation within the studio.

0031 (0) 6 347 443 25 [email protected] b-nieuws.bk.tudelft.nl issuu.com/bnieuws

Cover illustration Schiphol Interchange Station, by Daniel van Kersbergen

Editorial Board Anne de Haij Wing (Yinjun Weng) Peter Smisek Ivan Thung Daphne Bakker

Contributors Machiel van Dorst Dominique Vermeulen Daniel van Kersbergen Michela Turrin

Samuel De Vries, MSc 1 Materialisation I really don’t know; I like my current studio. It’s less theory-based and more about really making things, and the essence of building. I enjoy it very much and it really drives my design quite well. I like a more hand-on approach, like making models and it’s been great so far. I chose it because I’ve been informed about how the studio is run, and I wouldn’t change a thing.

Patric Bedarf , MSc 4 Computational Architecture We are studying at a really well known faculty within a global academic market. Because that is the case, I’ve often had the feeling that the individual research of faculty members was valued over the education of the students. I’d like to find a nice balance between research and teaching.

Editorial Advice Board Marcello Soeleman Ania Molenda Robert Nottrot Linda de Vos Pierijn van der Putt

Print Drukkerij Tan Heck, Delft

Rick Zwerver, MSc 4 Hybrid Building Some teachers have their own businesses on the side. They are often more stressed than the teachers whose sole passion is to educate. The latter are far more engaging and will devote more time to their students. When teaching is their gig on the side, they’re often distracted by business calls while they’re supposed to be teaching. So, when at the faculty, they should focus on the students, not on their other job.

Revatui Pillai, MSc3 DSD Back in my school, we used to have group discussion among students. After the studio was over we used to criticize each other’s design. Here, only a small group of international students does this. In the past I did Hybrid buildings and RMIT, which I didn’t find intense like my current studio. Hybrid also promoted itself as having more of an urban approach, but when we got to the design I found it quite form based. They should clarify what they mean by urban, because I was expecting more strategies It was a disappointment.

Next deadline 11 April 2012, 12.00 PM B Nieuws 09, May 2012 Illustrations only in *.tif, *.eps or *.jpg format, min 300 dpi

The editorial board has the right to shorten and edit articles, or to refuse articles that have an insinuating, discriminatory or vindicatory character, or contain unnecessary coarse language. Unsolicited articles can have a The editorial board informs maximum of 500 words, the author(s) concerning the announcements 50 words. reason for its deciscion, directly after it has been made.

AGENDA B NIEUWS 08 2 APRIL 2012

WEEK 17

WEEK 14

PhD Defense

Conference

M. Bilow: International façades - CROFT

Delta Programme Knowledge Conference 2012 03.04.2012 Professionals involved in the Delta Programme in both the Netherlands and similar foreign countries will explore scientific, international and practical solutions and strategies to ensure that the Netherlands remains safe from water and attractive far into the future. BK City, Various rooms / 9:00 - 18:00 tudelft.nl/deltakennisconferentie2012

WEEK 16 Book Presentation

Lecture

Jo Coenen 03.04.2012 Jo Coenen zal vanuit zijn brede internationale ervaring op het gebied van ontwerp, onderwijs en beleid, spreken in het kader van 'Redefining Architecture'. Brakke Grond, A'dam/ 20:15 / € 7,50 for students arcam.nl

Open Day

BSc Open Days 04.04.2012 - 05.04.2012 Open days for prospective bachelor students. BK City / Aula TU Delft www.opendagen.tudelft.nl

Lecture

Architectuur en Filosofie: Vrije Tijd 04.04.2012 Op 4 april 2012 geeft –docent Architectural Design TU Eindhoven – een lezing architectuur en filosofie over het thema ‘Vrije Tijd’. BK City, Berlage 1 / 17:45 bk.tudelft.nl

Lecture

Virtual & Future Realities 04.05.2012 - 05.04.2012 Professors Winy Maas (MVRDV) and Kas Oosterhuis (ONL) will give a lecture concerning the theme ‘Virtual & Future Realities’. BK City, Room A / 17:00 - 19:00 bk.tudelft.nl

SPOT ! T LIGH

23.04.2012 Dipl.Ir. M. Bilow will take his doctoral degree by defending his thesis ‘International facades - CROFT: Climate Related Optimized Façade Construction Aula TU Delft / 15:00 bk,tudelft.nl

WEEK 15 Book Presentation

Complexity Theories of Cities Have Come of Age 11.04.2012 The book gives an overview of complexity theories and its implications to urban planning and design. It was written by the faculty’s visiting professor Juval Portugali, professor Han Meyer and ir. Egbert Stolk and ir. Ekim Tan. BK City, Berlage Rooms / 15:30 bk.tudelft.nl

Lecture

Petra Blaise: Inside Outside 12.04.2012 Dutch designer Petra Blaisse, Inside Outside’s founding 01_Kop Kleur director, will give a lecture at the 02_Kop NAi about Zwart the mindset, inspira03_DATUM tions and motivations that underlie 04_Plat projects such as the interior 05_Infoand landscape design for the Central Library in Seattle, as 06_Web well as curtain designs like those for the Haus der Kunst in Munich 01_Kop Kleur and the Synagogue of the Liberal 02_Kop Zwartin AmsterJewish Community 03_DATUM dam. 04_Plat NAi, Rotteradm / 19:30 / 05_Info € 3 for students 06_Web nai.nl

Back to The Future: The History of Architecture Since 1889

Book Presentation

17.04.2012 This roundtable discussion, organized in collaboration with the Phaidon Press, marks the recent release of Jean-Louis Cohen's The Future of Architecture Since 1889. This event brings together architectural historians to discuss this new comprehensive history of architecture as well as the writing of architectural historiography in general. Berlage Institute/ Rotterdam / 19:00 - 21:00 / RSVP berlage-institute.nl

24.04.2012 During the International Architectural Biennial Rotterdam, the chair of Design as Politics will not only present one of the main exhibitions but also book #6 from the Design and Politics series: ‘Are We The World? Randstad, Holland versus São Paulo, Istanbul & Detroit’. NAi, Rotterdam / 20:00 / € 3 for students designaspolitics.wordpress.com iabr.nl

Lecture

Reinier de Graaf: Megalopoli(tic)s 19.04.2012 What ultimate political consequences should be drawn from the demographic, economic and cultural momentum that the megacity has gained? Reinier de Graaf from OMA gives a lecture on the issue. Berlage Institute / Rotterdam / 19:00 - 21:00 / RSVP berlage-institute.nl

Exhibition

International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam 2012 20.04.2012 - 12.08.2012 ‘Making City’ shows how that is possible, with a range of scenarios for living in the city, driven by innovative and ever-changing alliances of designers, administrators, planners, developers and inhabitants. NAi, Rotterdam / € 6,50 for students iabr.nl

Iternational Architecture Biennale Rotterdam 2012 It will only be a few decades before almost 80% of mankind will be living in cities. Cities may occupy only about 4 per cent of the earth’s surface area, but they generate 90% of our wealth. Such extreme urbanisation presents huge social, economic and ecological challenges.

Design As Politics: Are We the World?

PhD Defense

K. Havik: Urban Literacy 25.04.2012 Ir. K.M. Havik will take her doctoral degree by defending her thesis ‘Urban Literacy. A Scriptive Approach to the Experience, Use, and Imagination of Place’. Her thesis defence will be followed by a debate in the Central Library. Aula TU Delft / 12:30 bk,tudelft.nl

Colloquium

Real Estate and Housing Colloquium 27.04.2012 On 27 April 2012 the Real Estate and Housing Department (RE&H) is organising a colloquium where the department’s PhD candidates can present the progress made on their doctoral theses. Internal and external peers will also assess the results. All faculty staff and students are invited to attend the colloquium. Aula TU Delft, Committee Room 3 / 8:45 - 16:30 bk.tudelft.nl

EXHIBITIONS Smart Cities Parallel Cases 2 The answers to these pressing issues lie in the city itself. How do you spatially structure a megacity? How do we deal climaterelated threats? These questions can only be answered if we make the city in a different way.

NAi, Rotterdam / until 12.08.2012

NAi, Rotterdam / 20.04.2012 - 12.08.2012 / nai.nl

ARCAM, Amsterdam / from 20.04.2012 until 09.06.2012

ZOO, or the letter Z, just after Zionism

NAiM Bureau Europa, Maastricht / until 20.05.2012

Maquette-expo Gouden A.A.P.