Independent School for the City, Rotterdam Videos

Join us on Tuesday 3 December for the third and final session of Back to School with…Lena Knappers & Bram van Ooijen on climate change, environmental justice and migration. For this evening they have invited designer and founder of “FAST - Foundation for Achieving Seamless Territory” Malkit Shoshan who will join us online, and artist-explorer Esther Kokmeijer, to talk about Strategies for Climate Induced displacement and migration. Together with them we will examine how to address regional displacement and migration, but will also look at areas near the planet’s cooler poles that might become potential places to build new villages and cities. The event takes place on Tuesday 3 December 2024, 19:00 - 21:00 (doors open and dinner is served at 18:00). Tickets for the separate events are 17,50 euro and include a simple dinner. More info here: https://www.schoolforthecity.nl/back-to-school-with-lena-knappers-bram-van-ooijen-3/ Image 2: Malkit Shoshan Image 3: Esther Kokmeijer

Register now for the Concrete Workshop with Studio Ossidiana, a hands-on course on the expressive potential of concrete, involving formwork, pouring and polishing, creating a Petrified Tapestry of concrete tiles. Taking place on 1,2, 9 & 16 November 2024. Over the course of four days, participants will work with Giovanni Bellotti and Alessandra Covini of Studio Ossidiana to collaboratively design and build a modular concrete platform - a shared space for eating, playing, sitting, and displaying objects. The platform will be constructed using modular elements, each crafted from different materials sourced in the city’s expanded territory, the landscape along the river Maas. These materials will be transformed into new "artificial rocks”, telling stories of the landscape they belong to, suggesting a new contemporary geology. The workshop will take place across two locations: the Independent School for the City in Rotterdam and Tomaello in Vlaardingen, where participants will collaborate with terrazzo artisans to cast and finish the pieces. The program is hands-on, encouraging participants to experiment with new forms and materials while engaging with the historical and contemporary contexts of terrazzo-making. Tickets are available for 250 euro. Limited amount, so get yours quick! More info and tickets on website: https://www.schoolforthecity.nl/craftivism-workshop-with-studio-ossidiana/ Image: Platform of Humans and Birds, Studio Ossidiana

Join us on Tuesday 5 November for the second session of Back to School with…Lena Knappers & Bram van Ooijen on climate change, environmental justice and migration. For this evening they have invited Mark Akkerman of the Transnational Institute and Mimi Sheller of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Massachusetts. The central topic of this second evening is “Global climate borders and mobility justice”. Many people in the Global North enjoy the benefits of extraction economies that exacerbate ocean acidification, rising sea levels and drought. While these changes affect people around the world, many in the Global South bear the brunt of the climate crisis. Environmental justice theory and activism seek to address these uneven distributions of the benefits and burdens of environmental harm. Climate justice and mobility justice attempt to correct the injustices caused by the climate crisis. As globalised environmental and climate injustices force people to move, legal scholars debate the ethics of exclusionary immigration policies in the European Union and the United States of America. The event takes place on Tuesday 5 November 2024, 19:00 - 21:00 (doors open and dinner is served at 18:00). Tickets for the separate events are 17,50 euro and include a simple dinner. More info here: https://www.schoolforthecity.nl/back-to-school-with-lena-knappers-bram-van-ooijen-2/

Today is the last day to apply for Into the Woods, a one-week studio exploring strategies for radically greening our cities by creating a micro forest, led by Peter Veenstra of LOLA Landscape Architects and Ronald Buiting, taking place from 21 - 25 October 2024. In this workshop, we will build upon the experiences from the previous edition in 2021. We will follow an ecological and hands-on approach, utilizing nature's natural reproductive processes by harvesting and replanting seedlings. We will work on creating our own micro forest, employing a layered approach from the soil to the treetops, with a specific focus on the biodiversity of what we are planting. On the first day there will be presentations by Peter Veenstra of LOLA Landscape Architects and Piet Vollaard on greening the city. After participants will visit ZOHO and Herpark. The second day will have a lecture by Ronald Buiting and following an excursion to Bentwoud, Zoetermeer, Harvesting Seedlings. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday participants will work on location at Hefpark, exploring soil quality, digging, panting, seeding, naming trees, etc. On Friday at 15:00 we will invite external people for a presentation and an official opening of the micro forest. Tickets are available for 250 euro. Special fees apply for special situations. For more info please send an email to [email protected]. Find more info on our website https://www.schoolforthecity.nl/into-the-woods-2/

Apply before 07 October to join Into the Woods, a one-week studio exploring strategies for radically greening our cities by creating a micro forest, led by Peter Veenstra of LOLA Landscape Architects and Ronald Buiting, taking place from 21 - 25 October 2024. In this workshop, we will build upon the experiences from the previous edition in 2021. We will follow an ecological and hands-on approach, utilizing nature's natural reproductive processes by harvesting and replanting seedlings. We will work on creating our own micro forest, employing a layered approach from the soil to the treetops, with a specific focus on the biodiversity of what we are planting. On the first day there will be presentations by Peter Veenstra of LOLA Landscape Architects and Piet Vollaard on greening the city. After participants will visit ZOHO and Herpark. The second day will have a lecture by Ronald Buiting and following an excursion to Bentwoud, Zoetermeer, Harvesting Seedlings. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday participants will work on location at Hefpark, exploring soil quality, digging, panting, seeding, naming trees, etc. On Friday at 15:00 we will invite external people for a presentation and an official opening of the micro forest. Tickets are available for 250 euro. Special fees apply for special situations. For more info please send an email to [email protected]. Find more info on our website https://www.schoolforthecity.nl/into-the-woods-2/

Join us for the first evening of Back to School with…Lena Knappers & Bram van Ooijen, a series of three evening lectures about climate change, environmental justice and migration. With Amara van der Elst, Elham Sabahat and IOM Climate Action Division. Taking place on Tuesday 08 October 2024, 19:00 - 21:00 (doors open and dinner served at 18:00). On the first evening we will discuss the impact of climate change on areas and communities around the world. As a result of global warming, environmental conditions are changing rapidly, and in some cases irreversibly. Some are already forced to move away from their homes, others are unable to escape. According to ‘Future of the Human Climate Niche, a ground-breaking interdisciplinarity study, in the coming century global heating will drive billions of people out of the ‘climate niche’ in which humanity has flourished for millennia, exposing them to unprecedented temperatures and extreme weather. In countries with large populations and already warm climates most people will be pushed outside the human climate niche, with India and Nigeria facing worst changes. Exposure outside the niche could result in increased morbidity, mortality or migration elsewhere. In the project ‘Humanity on the Move’, the starting point for this lecture series, Bram van Ooijen and Lena Knappers explore how we can address this major issue. Tickets for the separate events are 17,50 euro and include a simple dinner. An entrance package for all three evenings is available for 45 euro. Find more info on event and tickets here https://www.schoolforthecity.nl/back-to-school-with-lena-knappers-bram-van-ooijen-1/

Join us for the first evening of Back to School with…Lena Knappers & Bram van Ooijen, a series of three evening lectures about climate change, environmental justice and migration. With Amara van der Elst, Elham Sabahat and IOM Climate Action Division. Taking place on Tuesday 08 October 2024, 19:00 - 21:00 (doors open and dinner served at 18:00). On the first evening we will discuss the impact of climate change on areas and communities around the world. As a result of global warming, environmental conditions are changing rapidly, and in some cases irreversibly. Some are already forced to move away from their homes, others are unable to escape. According to ‘Future of the Human Climate Niche, a ground-breaking interdisciplinarity study, in the coming century global heating will drive billions of people out of the ‘climate niche’ in which humanity has flourished for millennia, exposing them to unprecedented temperatures and extreme weather. In countries with large populations and already warm climates most people will be pushed outside the human climate niche, with India and Nigeria facing worst changes. Exposure outside the niche could result in increased morbidity, mortality or migration elsewhere. In the project ‘Humanity on the Move’, the starting point for this lecture series, Bram van Ooijen and Lena Knappers explore how we can address this major issue. Tickets for the separate events are 17,50 euro and include a simple dinner. An entrance package for all three evenings is available for 45 euro. Find more info on event and tickets on our website - Link in Bio #climatechange #environmentaljustice #migration #displacement #iom

Register now for Into the Woods, a one-week studio exploring strategies for radically greening our cities by creating a micro forest, led by Peter Veenstra of LOLA Landscape Architects and Ronald Buiting. Taking place from 21 - 25 October 2024. Planting trees has become a popular initiative for local and national governments around the world to combat climate change and increase biodiversity. While expanding, regenerating, and rewilding large natural areas are crucial strategies for creating diverse and healthy carbon-storing ecosystems, there are also many reasons to radically green our urban areas. Trees capture CO2 and clean the air, cool our cities, help regulate ecosystems, improve our health, and foster a sense of well-being. In this workshop, we will build upon the experiences from the previous edition in 2021. We will follow an ecological and hands-on approach, utilizing nature’s natural reproductive processes by harvesting and replanting seedlings. We will work on creating our own micro forest, employing a layered approach from the soil to the treetops, with a specific focus on the biodiversity of what we are planting. Register before 07 October 2024. Tickets are available for 250 euro. More info and tickets on our website - Link in Bio #Intothewoods #lolalandscapearchitects #greencities #microforest #climatechange #biodiversity #urbanism #architecture

In response to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and the severe destruction in Gaza by the Israeli government, the Independent School for the City is organizing another edition of the Fables of the Reconstruction seminar in November 2024. Building on the insights from last year's edition, we will this time focus on the mechanisms behind the reconstruction of cities, contrasting the involvement of global conglomerates and multinationals - often characterised by generic concepts - with the need for locally rooted solutions. We will focus on the reconstruction of Ukraine and Gaza - two countries at war within the Western sphere of influence. In both cases we see how the reconstruction is initiated by globally operating consultancy firms, finance companies and construction and design offices, which have a very close relationship with the American government and stand for an extreme neo-liberal attitude towards ‘nation building’ and the (re)construction of cities. At the same time, there are coalitions of designers who try to work from the existing context and form of cities, building upon the properties of the place and the needs of the existing population. These coalitions often have good intentions and are supported by a large number of spatial professionals all over the world, but it is difficult for them to gain a real foothold in the bureaucratic processes. This seminar will explore the roles of consultants, bankers, politicians, engineers, planners, and architects in shaping the development of reconstruction plans and visions. Through lectures and discussions, the seminar will foster an exchange of ideas across borders. Rotterdam will serve as the fitting backdrop for this event. The seminar consists of three afternoon sessions on Fridays: November 15, 22, and 29, 2024. Tickets are available for 150 euros. More information can be found here

Register now for the Film & Architecture Studio 2024! The Independent School for the City and AFFR ( Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam) have joined forces again for the next edition of the renowned Film and Architecture Studio, led by architect, curator, and filmmaker Jord den Hollander. This acclaimed one-week course delves into the language of film to explore the relationship between film, cities, and architecture. Participants learn the narrative of filmmaking as a research tool to better understand urban environments. The course emphasises scripting and using film to structure thoughts and develop a narrative, rather than focusing on technical filmmaking aspects. The Film and Architecture Studio is a one-week course with activities in Rotterdam over two consecutive Fridays and Saturdays, plus a Wednesday evening. Participants will develop a two-minute film and Filmmaker Jord den Hollander and the Independent School team provide guidance and inspiration, with group discussions on progress. Finally, participants will have the chance to present their films at the Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam. Register before 26 August 2024. Tickets are available for 250 euro. Special fees apply for special situations. For more info please send an email to info[@]schoolforthecity.nl Find more info on our website: https://www.schoolforthecity.nl/film-architecture-studio-2024/

Join us next week for School’s Out! on Friday May 31. For this event, we’ve invited architect, urban designer and filmmaker Rohan Shivkumar from India. He will talk about the intertwined histories of image making and the evolution of the city of Mumbai. Mumbai is often more myth than place. Every street and square is haunted by images – from the past and the future. These images shape the way we see who we are, and what we are going to be. They come from the world of cinema, television, poetry, urban design and architecture and promise the unfettered freedom of modernity on the streets, but also its inverse- the dark dungeon of crime filled alleys. These are intertwined with the everyday life of its inhabitants and affects the way the city grows. This has been particularly true across the twentieth century during which both its population and its role as the centre for the Hindi film industry grew rapidly. Rohan Shivkumar is an architect, urban designer and filmmaker practising, based in Mumbai. He is the Dean of Architecture at the Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Environmental Studies, principal of the ‘Collaborative Design Studio’ and a member of CRIT - an urban research collective. His work ranges from architecture, urban research and consultancy projects to works in film and visual art. Doors will open at 18:00, the event starts at 19:00. Tickets available for 5 Euro. Get them here! https://schoolforthecity.stager.co/School%27s%20Out%21/tickets