2014-09-15Souper #57

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On Friday, September 12th, there was a special Souper in Venice. At our table we had Ankie Schellekens (owner Venice Planner), architect/ photographer Giovanni Vio (phd IUAV) and architect Silvia Dainese (studio GRISDAINESE). Later architect Stefano Gris (studio GRISDAINESE) also joined us.

The exhibition Monditalia at the Architecture Biennale was a good input to talk to people who live in Venice. Monditalia shows that the country has a nice history, but also a very uncertain future in many ways. Living and working in Italy in general and in Venice in particular are obvious themes for this evening with people from the tourism industry and architecture business.

80,000 tourists visit Venice each day, while the population has now dropped to 60,000. No one has an idea how population decline and mass tourism can tolerate each other well. In Ankie these phenomena come together. She lived for many years in the city center and she conducts a visit to the city tailored for different types of businesses. Pleasant reside in Venice finally has everything to do with the precise organization of the stay of visitors to the city.

Giovanni and Silvia work in a country that has one architect per 450 inhabitants This density is outstanding. In the Netherlands, for example, there is only one architect per 1650 inhabitants. Both have broadened their design activities. Giovanni with research and the office of Silvia also designs many temporary structures for exhibitions and retail.

We have learned a lot about living in Venice and working in Italy from our pleasant and enterprising guests. The waterfront terrace of Trattoria Altanella in the district of La Giudecca was a perfect place for this special evening. The restaurant is runned over 100 years by the same family. The homemade gnocchi nero di sepia was delightful.

2013-10-06Pearls in the landscape

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Architects have a problematic relationship with the landscape. In urban areas architects justify a building with the requisite programme and relate it to the developed context. Building in the landscape frequently raises the question of why a programme should be added at all: competing with a splendid or robust landscape is generally already a lost cause for the building. Three films show what it is about: romance.

Architects Gunnar Daan and Cor Kalfsbeek have made a prominent contribution to the architecture in the empty landscape of the northern Netherlands. In the documentary In Context they comment on each other’s work. The projects they review are meticulously embedded in the landscape. Daan, however, vividly explains what the relationships are: “if a new house has the semblance of enjoying the landscape, then the landscape will also enjoy the house”.

In the short film Sizígia the architect, Álvaro Siza, does not actually speak. This is not a shortcoming. Fortunately, the Leça da Palmeira swimming pool complex on the Portuguese coast requires no explanation. Siza tamed the seawater, transforming it into a calm, inviting expanse of water in an irresistible combination of an artificial concrete construction and a capital landscape. In anticipation of swimmers and, presumably, one or two architecture tourists, we follow the not-very communicative caretaker as he prepares the complex for the new season.

Andrea Palladio (1508-1580) was possibly the first architect who intentionally positioned his villas in the landscape. In the film version of Mozart’s Don Gioavanni, we are treated to three hours of Palladio’s work. Villa Rotonda in Vicenza forms one of the decors in this splendid production by Joseph Losey. The problematic relationship between the architect and the landscape also originates, strangely enough, from Palladio himself. His four books on architecture mainly explore the relationships and structure of a building, but he pays little attention to positioning the building in a landscape, whereas studies have revealed that he was extremely exacting in this respect. His preferred site for a building was on top of a hill or a spot by a river.

Without the rationality of the programme and without a developed context, architecture in the landscape can be judged by its relationship to the landscape and its affinity with the user. Listening to architects talking about this romantic concept is somewhat discomforting. Looking at architecture in the landscape, on the contrary, is very comforting.

Article published in the magazine AFFR 2013 and on the website of the AFFR .

Check the website of AFFR for screenings

2012-07-23Souper #35

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We invite the landscape architects Saline Verhoeven (Bureau B +B urban design and landscape architecture) and Peter Veenstra (LOLA Landscape Architects) to discuss the public domain. On Monday, July 25 they both talked freely and very enthusiastic about their office and projects. Landscape architects have a number of properties which they can survive in this difficult time. The relationship between research and practice is obvious and still very strong. And they have a proper way to control long-term and complex design and implementation processes. A nice craftsmanship.

We found the Park (next to the Euromast), designed by Zocher, a suitable setting to eat with our guests. Restaurant Harbour Club in Villa Park View was a less good idea.

Daan Bakker (Daf-architecten), Jeroen de Willigen (DeZwarteHond), Jasper de Haan (architect) and I invite each month a number of colleagues to eat, drink and discuss about our profession, the city of Rotterdam and related matters.

2011-11-08Souper #29

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A souper with two guys form the province: Helmut Thoele (Senior Urban Planner Provincie Zuid-Holland and Joks Janssen (Quartermaster Knowledge & Research at Provincie Noord-Brabant). Helmut and Joks have a very enthusiastic and convincing talk about the usefulness of the province in relation to spatial planning. Rotterdam The Hague Metropolitan region and urban and rural developments in the Noord Brabant are successful concepts. We have to be more proud of this spatial developments. Let's lift the disabled planning services at the municipal now. The regions, cities and rural areas are in better hands at a regional planning service. Here are more intelligent people and there thinking is more integrated. This only know something too few people.

In Rotterdam, many restaurants are closed on Mondays. Fortunately restaurant Lux is again open seven days a week for a good Italian meal.

Daan Bakker (Daf-architecten), Jeroen de Willigen (DeZwarteHond), Jasper de Haan (architect) and I invite each month a number of colleagues to eat, drink and discuss about our profession, the city of Rotterdam and related matters.

2011-05-08Souper #24

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Last Thursday we had diner with Michiel Dehaene (TU Eindhoven & KU Leuven) and Luuk Boelens They were Belgian situations in restaurant De jonge De Jong on Katendrecht.

Both guests work mainly in the Netherlands but living in Belgium. The delicious food and friendly service compete with the high standards they are accustomed. The long night was too short to discuss and understand all new developments and ideas in the field of urban design and planning. But it was a very interesting and entertaining evening.

Daan Bakker (Daf-architecten), Jeroen de Willigen (DeZwarteHond), Jasper de Haan (architect) and I invite each month a number of colleagues to eat, drink and discuss about our profession, the city of Rotterdam and related matters.

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