If you were thinking of applying to the Berlage Institute for the 2008-2009 school year (PDF), well, hopefully you’ve done it already. The deadline is for applications is the 29th February, 2008. The prospectus is as good as usual, and if you’re new to Berlage-Institute, it is the best place for post-graduate study in the Netherlands.
I just got news about the Berlage Institute’s lecture series this term. It’s starting rather late, but as always impresses with a highly profiled list of speakers. It’s the pattern we all know and love: A few well known names mixed with a bunch of people maybe less known but definitely worth noticing.
Here’s the details:
Continue reading ‘Berlage Lecture Series’
The Delft School of Design PhD series ‘Architectural Engineering - Performance, Geometry and Materials’ has been launched. Themes are Complex Geometry Architecture and Performance Based Architecture. See our Calendar for allthe dates.
Last week I attended the presentations of the associative design 2nd year at the Berlage research studio synthetic vernacular. Led by Peter Trummer and assisted by our fellow dysturb evangelist Martin Sobota, the class investigated traditional chinese building typologies. The principles found in the analysis were used to create a set of rules to create a framework to parametrically derive urban structure and architecture of an exemplary plot in Shanghai: Deus ex Machina.
The research group divided up into for teams, each focussing on different base parameters as FAR, degrees of privacy, climate, internal room organisation, sun trajectories. The formal decisions of the teams also led to varying urban fabrics, from low-rise high-density urban mass not unsimilar to south-american favelas to a styled courtyard & slab network. The results are cutting edge and and visualisations of the process are breath-takingly beautiful. But watch the movie first, then proceed to the review.
Of the many end-of-year shows around Rotterdam, we are especially excited for this Thursday’s opening of Knowing Nothing of Agility at the Tent Gallery, Rotterdam. It is the graduating exhibition for Master of Fine Arts students from the Piet Zwart Institute, part of the Willem de Kooning Academie here in Rotterdam.
Opening Event: 12 July 2007 @ 20.00.
Exhibition Runs: 12 July 2007 - 19 August 2007
Students showing: Alexis Blake [US], Jérémie Boyard [FR], Ruth Buchanan [NZ], Angeline Dekker [NL], Deirdre M. Donoghue [FI/IE], Rafael F. Mendieta [PE], Ruth Legg [UK], Lieke Snellen [NL], Niels Vis [NL]
Continue reading ‘Knowing Nothing of Agility: The PZI end-of-year show @ Tent Gallery’
Some TU Delft students we know present their diploma projects tomorrow, Friday the 6th of July. Among them Michiel van Raij, author of Eikonographia. See his invitation.
The Berlage Institute, postgraduate laboratory of architecture in Rotterdam, has installed a new Research Board. Until now, Alejandro Zaera Polo (director of FOA) has been the Dean of the Institute. He has been opening the Berlage to a more international field as to tutors, lecturers and new design strategies. Instead of appointing a single follower, the institute named a board of five established figures: Ben van Berkel, Winy Maas, Robert E. Somol, Elia Zenghelis and Alejandro Zaera Polo himself. Vedran Mimica (now Director of Studies) is named director and will be responsible for the management of the postgraduate program and the implementation of strategic advice provided by the Research Board. The idea is to create a new innovative platform, not so much dependent on a single person. One the one hand this model is very flexible and inspires discussion and critique, on the other hand there is the danger of loosing profile by not having a representative person, a champion. Who is responsible for what? How much time will the board members spend at the institute? Will they find a common course? I am curious to follow how this system works out. The openness of the system speaks for the flexibility of the Berlage Institute as an independent research laboratory.
Continue reading ‘Berlage Institute sets new Research Board’
Hunch #11 from the Berlage Institute came out the past month. The annual books current theme is Rethinking Representation. Google Maps +
Continue reading ‘Hunch #11 - Rethinking Representation’
The coming few months will see the end of this years “Architectural Positions” seminar series following the subject “Modernity and the Public Sphere”. Check out our calendar for event details. The mix of speakers is broad, and 3-person seminars look to be set for heated debates. The school’s goal is that: “The seminars will illustrate how architects, not just in their architectural production but more specificaly in their writing respond relentlessly to changes in the public sphere by adopting various ‘Architectural Positions’.”
The lineup will include (among others): Richard Sennett, Xaveer De Geyter, Leon Krier, Hans Kollhoff, Bernard Tschumi, Rem Koolhaas, Steven Holl and Lars Spuybroek. There is only a few seminars left - but they are also very good lineups.