UPCOMING EVENTS
This series of three lectures, curated by Lena Knappers and Bram van Ooijen, examines the impact of climate change on the liveability of our world and the potentialities of space. Where is climate-induced displacement and migration already happening today? Which areas will be most affected by global warming? Where can people move to and how can new places for living be built?
the speakers of this last evening are architect and researcher Malkit Shoshan and visual artist Esther Kokmeijer, who will look for strategies to deal with displacement and migration in the context of a changing climate. We will 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.
In the Netherlands, social housing is now primarily reserved for the poor or those in trouble - a scarce resource, burdened with stigma and prejudice against its residents. But what if "social" didn’t just mean help for individuals in need, but instead reflected a broader societal responsibility? This isn’t just wordplay; it’s a fundamental shift in perspective. Rather than viewing housing as a personal issue, it becomes a collective, socio-political priority.
On this second evening, we will look together with Bernd Vlay at examples from Austria, where social housing is available for everyone who wants to pay a fair rent for a moderate home, making social housing a basic facility for all. Anne-Jo Visser of the Amsterdam Federation of Housing Corporations will afterwards reflect, by talking about her vision of 'social' and the Dutch social-housing context.
A lecture by Catherine Mosbach from the Paris-based design firm mosbach paysagiste, about their layered and temporal approach to landscape architecture. She will talk about the importance of communication, exchange, and sharing as a cornerstone of creating connections between beings and their environments—both above and below the surface. Acknowledging that our understanding, knowledge and vision is limited, Mosbach argues that landscape architects must explore and develop multi-purpose forms, tools and dynamics that are accessible to as many people as possible. Through a selection of her own projects she will illustrate that this approach not only represents an aesthetic choice but also reflects an ethical stance.
The lecture is followed by a short film and drinks at the bar. Friday 28 February 2025, 19:00 - 22:00. Doors open at 18:00. Get your tickets here
The financialization of housing has been no accident – it has been a deliberate process. Many benefit from it, but it has also led to increasing housing inequality, making it inaccessible to an increasing number of people. Part of this also has to do with a knowledge deficit: people think that home ownership is the only housing solution - even if buying only brings misery. Call it housing illiteracy.
On this evening, we will discuss alternatives to ownership and explore what can be done about this illiteracy together with housing law specialist Nicolas Bernard. In his talk he will address question such as: Why does property hold such fascination today? What explains why housing assistance policies (at least in Belgium) are so heavily focused on homeownership? What values does this promotion of property convey? What are the benefits, but also the unintended consequences, of this policy? And, most importantly, are there alternatives—perhaps more social, less costly for the community, more collective, and more ecological—to private, individual, and perpetual ownership? The Community Land Trust is one such solution, but it is not the only one. Ultimately, how can we rethink our approach to property without falling into collectivism?
A festive opening of the Independent School for the City's new location on the top floor of "Het Archief" on the Robert Fruinstraat 52. Expect drinks, DJ's, performances and a lecture by Guardian's architecture and design critic Oliver Wainwright. Friday 28 March 2025, 19:00 - Late. More info soon.
A lecture about the work of this Brussels-based architectural practice that operates at the intersection of architecture and fiction, using critical and creative instruments to rethink how we live together, followed by a short film, drinks and tunes. Get your tickets here
A lecture by historian and writer Samia Henni about built and destroyed environments, dealing with questions of colonisation, nuclear weapons, and deserts. Henni will present her latest research on the French nuclear weapons testing programme (1960–1966) in the Algerian Sahara, bringing together nearly six hundred pages of materials documenting this violent history of France’s nuclear bomb programme in the Algerian desert. Meticulously culled together from across available, offered, contraband, and leaked sources, Henni will present a rich repository for all those concerned with histories of nuclear weapons and engaged at the intersections of spatial, social and environmental justice, as well as anticolonial archival practices.
The lecture is followed by a short film and drinks at the bar. Friday 30 May 2025, 19:00 - 22:00. Doors open at 18:00. Get your tickets here
A lecture by Kenny Cupers, Professor of Architectural History and Urban Studies at the University of Basel, where he co-founded and leads the Urban Studies division since 2015. This lecute will be about his historical and collaborative research in Kenya, exploring the planetary politics of design, the coloniality of infrastructure, and African worldmaking.
The lecture is followed by a short film and drinks at the bar. Friday 27 June 2025, 19:00 - 22:00. Doors open at 18:00. Get your tickets here