WE, THE TEMPORARY
A three-week education studio on migration in Rotterdam, exploring the lives of temporary residents of the city. Taking place on Mondays till Thursdays between 21 April and 08 May 2025.
Tickets for this thematic block are available for 400 euro. This workshop is part of our This is Tomorrow programme, but also offered as a stand-alone workshop. Availability depends on the amount of participants in the full programme.
We, The Temporary
Rotterdam has been drawing people from every corner of the globe for decades, thanks to its port and connections to the rest of the world. During these weeks, we will therefore look at the city of Rotterdam as a space for migrants, whether they be refugees from war or expats surfing the waves of international capital. We will explore the lives and experiences of those who temporarily stay in the city. From seasonal workers in Westland's greenhouses or the logistic warehouses, to international students pursuing a master's degree at one of the universities. And from undocumented migrants who live on the street and struggle to survive, to rich expats who are welcomed with open arms.
We will do reconnaissance missions in a number of buildings that were specifically designed and built for travellers of different kinds: the asylum seekers centre, the labour migrant hostel, the exclusive enclave for expats and the international student hotel. We will investigate these temporary communities and see which role they play in local and global networks, mapping out their inner social, spatial and architectural workings, as well as the political and financial structures that have created them.
This workshop is part of our This is Tomorrow programme, but also offered as a stand-alone workshop. More info soon.
Preliminary Programme
Week 1: Monday 21 - Thursday 24 April 2025. Understanding direct living environments of temporary residents: Desktop research and architectural analysis.
Week 2: Monday 28 April - Thursday 01 May 2025. Mapping networks in the city: Fieldwork, observations, interviews, etc.
Week 3: Monday 05 - Thursday 08 May 2025 . Presentation, output and strategy.
TESTIMONIALS OF PREVIOUS PARTICIPANTS
ABOUT ROTTERDAM
Once unknown and misunderstood, the city of Rotterdam is now more popular than ever. Iconic buildings, bars and restaurants pop up all around town, making it an attractive destination for tourists, students and other visitors from all around the world. The population is growing, house prices are on the rise and the development of new urban districts is in full swing. In less than two decades the city has changed from a harsh and grim, yet poetic, place to a smooth and attractive city that is loved and today is even called hospitable and pleasant.
But no matter how charming the city presents itself, no matter how modern or popular it is, it owes - contrarily enough – a large part of its appeal to its sharp edges; its attraction lies not exactly in being able to offer what you are looking for, but in what it confronts you with unexpectedly: the surprises, the jagged fringes and the opportunities they bring. The city is a real city because it always offers more than what you asked for. It is the darker side that makes her more than a small town. The city is old, dirty and beautiful at the same time. That’s why we love her, why we want to nurture her.
Yet, at the same time, there are still many serious issues in this city that are problematic. Just like other world cities, Rotterdam has to come to terms with social inequality and spatial segregation, with drug-related crime and human trafficking, with pollution and environmental degradation. The city has been part of a global network since her origins and shares these issues with cities worldwide such as Hong Kong or Baltimore, Athens or Accra. Her problems are not unique, but can we devise unique strategies to solve them?
Rotterdam is a laboratory for the School. In Rotterdam, things can be researched, designed and developed that could be of interest to the rest of the world, because in Rotterdam we can find situations that are often related to cities in very different parts of the world. It is for these reasons that the Independent School for the City takes the city of Rotterdam, in all its complexity, as the point of departure for study, with the goal of stimulating and inspiring a new generation of urbanists to apply their creativity to finding new solutions for the city.