FOLLOW THE MONEY

Course Structure

The program starts on Monday 21 October and will finish on Thursday 31 October. It consists out of five full days (10:00 - 18:30) and 4 evenings (19:00 - 22:00), during which participants will take part in a range of activities, including lectures, conversations with professionals, field trips, collective work, and presentations. The program is organized in two parts:

#1. Analysis: Property, Labour, and Capital in Rotterdam
The first part of the studio will consist of a thorough analysis of three extraordinary case studies in the city of Rotterdam: Rotterdam Central Station, completed in 2013 by Benthem Crouwel, Meyer & Van Schooten, and West 8; the Schieblock, a former office building redeveloped by ZUS and CODUM into an incubator of urban initiatives; and Baan Tower, an ongoing project for a residential high-rise initiated by a team including Powerhouse Company and RED Company, to be completed in 2022. As landmarks in the development of the contemporary city, these three projects represent different approaches to real estate and architecture: from a collaboration between public and private to a self-initiated project, to a seamless integration of development and design.

A series of lectures and field trips led by professionals involved in the realization of the projects will guide the participants toward an understanding of the hidden aspects of architectural production. Instead of focusing exclusively on the design of the buildings, we will look at how the three factors of property, labour, and capital have shaped the development process, from the initial idea to the completion of the building. Participants will extract a series of strategic tools that were used in the process and summarize them through diagrams. 

#2. Strategy: Hacking the Capitalist City.
During the second part of the studio, participants will work in teams to use the discovered tools related to property, capital, and labour to develop their own strategy for the city of Rotterdam. Starting from your personal fascinations and backgrounds, you will generate an innovative plan to address a specific issue in the city of Rotterdam. Guided by tutors, relevant lectures, and conversations with professionals, you will develop a strategy to implement your plan, generate profit and harness its cultural, social, environmental, or political cause against purely commercial thinking. 

The proposals should aim to answer the following question: How can the strategic tools of the capitalist city be used to generate non-financial value? In order to answer this, participants can envision any form of urban intervention, selecting the scale, location, and program they wish. At the end of the workshop, each group will pitch their strategy to the other participants, tutors, and external critics. The proposals should focus on concept, goal, financial strategy and marketing plan, stakeholder involvement, initiation strategy, and time frame.