For the first edition of Back to School with…  we’ve invited architect and researcher Marina Otero Verzier to curate a series around the topic of architecture for data storage and digital infrastructures following the title “Future Storage: Architectures to host the Metaverse”

In this series at the Independent School for the City we will explore architecture paradigms for storing data attuned to socio-ecological challenges and the growing price of energy. We will analyze current trends and innovations in data storing architectures and behaviors that could reduce dependence on data center growth: From macro data centers ceding terrain to decentralized egde computing and micro centers,  to data centres operating as a thermal urban infrastructures, and gardens being models for more-than-human data storing architectures.

A series of three evening lectures, taking place on Tuesday 04 April, 16 May and June 2023. Tickets for the separate events are available for 17,50 euro and include a simple dinner.  Get your tickets here

Back to School with… Rick ten Doeschate is a series around the topic of representation and formal expression of public buildings. During this series we deal with the fact that architecture debate has for the past thirty years revolved around ‘extra-architectural’ issues such as economy, program, health and sustainability, while subjects such as ‘Aesthetics’, ‘Design’, ‘Style’, ‘Representation’ have scarcely been discussed. In this series we want to broaden the view on the formal dimension of architecture. On three evenings we will illuminate the subject from different perspectives.

In this third event on the 20th of June, we will focus on the political perspective of representation and the formal expression of public buildings. In a public conversation with Rick ten Doeschate, Ninke Happel, Job Floris, Jaakko van t Spijker and others, we address the question: Should architecture represent the diversity in society, or rather strive for an ‘architecture parlante’ that binds us? Is a ‘universal’ architecture possible? What kind of ‘style’ is appropriate? Is the European tradition inclusive enough or should architecture renew itself, and in what way?

A series of three evening lectures that explore the architecture of memory, taking place on Tuesday 31 October, 21 November and 12 December 2023.

For the 3rd edition of Back to School with…  we’ve invited architect Arna Mačkić to curate a series around the topic of the architecture of memory. How can places of memory and monuments be designed that do not offer a one dimensional perspective on history, but that underline a shared past and a collective future? Places of remembrance that urge people to reassess their perspective and play a part in the daily lives of the urban communities. During this series we will look at different approaches by architects, activists and researchers in thinking about and designing places of remembrance.

A series of three evening lectures about a sustainable and just future for the port of Rotterdam, taking place on Tuesday 13 February, 5 and 26 March 2024. 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. Get your tickets here

For the 4th edition of Back to School with…  we’ve invited One Planet Port to curate a series around the topic of Architecture of Transition of Global Trade looking at the future of the port of Rotterdam. In this series we will focus on the port of Rotterdam and its pivotal role in steering the momentum of change toward a sustainable global trade and transportation system. Despite the recognition of the imperative to align with climate targets and adhere to planetary boundaries, the pace of change has fallen short of what is dictated by these limits. This underscores the necessity for a cohesive and systemic approach to address ports, advocating for a just and equitable transition that confronts global inequities and builds local people power.