The Big Library in Delft

Went for a lecture by Michael Speaks today at the Technical University of Delft. And finally went inside the big library, check out a few pictures from the inside.

A very interesting Lecture.

Just finished attending a very interesting lecture by Eyal Weizman as part of the Architecture and Power lecture series at the Berlage. His lecture was titled "Cumulative Radicalisation: Design in conflict" and it dealt with the use of planning and architecture by the Israeli Army as means of appropriating and controlling land.
Eyal is an Israeli architect and currently directs the Centre for Research Architecture at the Goldsmith Academy in London (a programme that he founded there).

[You can read an article about his research titled 'Politics of Verticality' here - http://www.netartreview.net/weeklyFeatures/Weizman_English.html or you could read an interesting interview here - http://cabinetmagazine.org/issues/9/wall.php or better still you can watch a lecture by him here - http://webcast.rice.edu/speeches/20040318weizman.html ]

Day out in Amsterdam

I finally got to go around Amsterdam to see some architecture earlier today, thanks to a great plan by Thomas to show us around his town. Thomas is the architecture Historian who took us to New York and a dear friend of our group here at the Berlage. Here's a few snaps from today.

This is MVRDV's Silodam project along the river very close to the Centre of the city.

Above is one of the best examples of the Amsterdam School Style of architecture. This is the 'Het Scheep' project designed by Micheal de Klerk.

And this last snap is of some temporary student housing made of self contained container units.

Exhibition in Amsterdam

Earlier today an exhibition of our* projects to develop a high speed railway station at Zuidas opened at a small gallery called 'Platform21' in South Amsterdam.

(* - Participants at the Berlage Institute, Rotterdam)

Day trip to Essen

Just back from a day trip to Essen (just across the border in Germany) along with people from Wiel Arets Office. We went to see the new Design school building designed my the Japanese Firm SANAA (kazuyo sejima + ryue nishizawa) (Read a bit about this firm here).

The building itself, as you can see, is quiet a beautiful piece of sculpture. But sadly the only things that it’s concerned with are its fine detailing and construction itself. The experience of the moving thru the building itself was very sterile and boring. The building in no way confronts its users in anyway and remains a silent backdrop, a sort of mundane elevator music. Probably it’s not so much a problem of this particular building but a general approach towards architecture that is adopted by SANAA.