Crimson Historians and UrbanistsCrimson Historians and Urbanists is Ewout Dorman, Mike Emmerik, Annuska Pronkhorst, Michelle Provoost, Simone Rots, Wouter Vanstiphout and Cassandra Wilkins. Since 1994, when Crimson published its first books and became part of the urban planning team for the extension of Utrecht ’Leidse Rijn’, the office has developed a hybrid practice with a background in architectural history that focusses on the contemporary city. Crimson designs for the city, researches it, writes texts and books about it, shows it in exhibitions and works of art, teaches about it, gives advice on it and makes policies for it. More info: crimsonweb.org
ZUS [Zones Urbaines Sensibles]Founded in 2001 by Elma van Boxel and Kristian Koreman, ZUS is an interdisciplinary design bureau for city and landscape, with offices in Rotterdam and New York. ZUS is currently working with an international team on a metropolitan vision for Marseille (France), a plan for the New Meadowlands in New Jersey (US), and the design for a music venue and a cinema in Rotterdam (NL). Their unsolicited advice and activist attitude saw them win the Maaskant Prize for Young Architects and receive a nomination for Architect of the Year in 2012. They are Visiting Professors at Syracuse University School of Architecture, lead the 'Gentrification Lab NYC' and recently published a new book, “City of Permanent Temporality – Incomplete & Unfinished”. More info: zus.cc
INDEPENDENT UNIVERSEWhen joining the Independent School for the City, you’ll enter the Independent Universe. You will be working together with various Masters of Looking and Making who will give you different perspectives and new insights, help you to strengthen your own position in the world and to reach your goal.
Amateur Cities Amateur Cities was set up and developed by Cristina Ampatzidou and Ania Molenda. It is a agency and an online publishing platform focused on researching, clarifying and popularizing new ways of city making related to technology and social participation. It does not simply document the new initiatives, but search for the bigger picture and a critical point of view. It aims to give insight in how architects, designers and urban planners can make use of the impact of current societal dynamics and new technologies to redefine their role in city making. Amateur Cities aims to hear and allow the collective intelligence to be heard in order to stimulate a new type of planning process that is open-ended and collaborative. More info at: amateurcities.com
Arnold ReijndorpStudied architecture at the TU-Delft. A growing interest in the social and cultural developments in cities brought him as a lecturer in urban sociology to the Sociology department of the University of Amsterdam, trying to bridge the gap between urban practice and academic discourse, for which attempts he was rewarded the Rotterdam-Maaskant price 2012. He acted as ad-interim professor of ‘Entwerfen und Architectursoziologie’ at the TU-Berlin and held the Han Lammers chair of ‘socio-economic and spatial developments of new urban areas’ at the University of Amsterdam. This resulted in various publications about Dutch new Towns and new approaches to public space.
CIVIC Public ArchitectureCivic is an architecture office focused on public buildings and places founded by Gert Kwekkeboom, Ingrid van der Heijden, Jan Lebbink and Rick ten Doeschate. The office works on different scales and works on a broad range of project such as library’s, bridges, cultural buildings, dikes, town halls, squares, educational facilities, housing, streets, sculptures and stations. Anticipating on the spatial, social, cultural, economic and ecological context, they do not approach architecture as an autonomous discipline, but rather as a public question. Research plays a crucial role in their design process, always exploring different variations and working with a combination of new ideas and proven concepts. More info at: civicarchitects.eu
De DépendanceDe Dépendance works from the premise that the city of Rotterdam is intrinsically connected to global trends – from growing flows of capital, labour, goods and information to geopolitical shifts of power. In order to explain, interpret and critically reflect on these transformations De Dépendance researches how they manifest themselves in our cities and urban regions. They do this by initiating public programs that bring new perspectives, divergent opinions, alternative solutions and (radical) imaginaries. More info: dedependance.eu
Failed ArchitectureFailed Architecture reconnects architecture with the real world. By opening up new perspectives on the built environment, they seek to explore the meaning of architecture in contemporary society. Since 2011, Failed Architecture has been providing an inclusive platform for critical urban discourse, fueled by unconventional narratives from an international network of contributors. They challenge dominant spatial fashions and explore alternative realities, reaching far beyond the architectural community. Mark Minkjan is an urban and architectural geographer, Editor-in-Chief at Failed Architecture and produces the Failed Architecture Podcast. René Boer is managing editor at Failed Architecture and works as a curator, critic and researcher in the fields of architecture, urbanism, heritage and art. More info at: failedarchitecture.com
Herman KossmannHerman Kossmann graduated as an architect from Delft University of Technology. He began his career as a teacher at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague and carried out a number of mayor renovation projects in Rotterdam as an independent architect. In the beginning of the 90’ he was asked to design and manage some large exhibitions, which became a new direction in his work. In 1998 he set up an interdisciplinary design office, based in Amsterdam with fellow student Mark de Jong: Kossmann.dejong. The office became an international operating design studio specialised in exhibition design and interior architecture. More info: kossmanndejong.nl
Jord den HollanderAfter having finished his master's in architecture at the Technical University of Delft, Jord den Hollander followed a course in scenario writing at the Filmschool in London. Throughout his career he has often combined both disciplines. He has made documentaries about art and architecture, has written and directed internationally acclaimed television series for children about art and science and is curator of the Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam (www.affr.nl), the world’s biggest architecture film festival, which he co-founded in 2002. In addition, he has designed a unique oeuvre that includes an architecture centre for children in Almere, a mobile kid’s library, a floating hotel and a tensegrity bicycle bridge.
Pro Arts Design In 2012 Edith Gruson and Gerard Hadders founded ProArtsDesign, an interdisciplinary design association specialized in building integrated solutions for complex communication questions. Edith Gruson revolutionized exhibition design with her company Traast + Gruson in the nineties. Their unique approach brought subject, context and architecture together. Since the end of the 80s they designed and co-edited more than 120 spatial presentations and exhibitions for corporations and cultural institutions in The Netherlands as well as international. Gerard Hadders was co-founder of the magazine and design group Hard Werken in 1978. From the early 1980’s on he was involved in curational work and editorial design. A professional in almost all facets of graphic design, from the late eighties on he developed a strong interest in architecture as sign and symbol. Gerard has worked for numerous – international – art institutions, creating identities, designing in depth catalogues and exhibitions. More info: proartsdesign.nl
Stad in de MaakStad in de Maak is an association set up to take on the redevelopment of vacant properties in Central Rotterdam, together with the local community. The association renovated six buildings, investing upfront the amount of loss the buildings were projected to generate for their owner in the coming 10 years. Stad in de Maak aims to go beyond temporary vacancy management, by reaching permanence in affordable housing and working spaces through collective ownership and management. Piet Vollaard is a driving force within Stad in de Maak. He is an architect and architecture critic. He was director of ArchiNed en publiced various architectural guides and monogrphics about Herman Haan, Frank van Klingeren en cepezed. More info: stadindemaak.nl
Team ThursdayTeam Thursday is a graphic design studio founded by Loes van Esch and Simone Trum, collaborating as a duo since 2010. They focus on the design and art direction of visual identities varying in scale and complexity – from festivals to books and exhibition design. They work on projects that are characterized by a strong visual language with a special interest in typography. The process, or performative aspect, plays an important role in their work. This translates into a special interest for tactility and materiality, but can also evolve in a spatial design or activity. Team Thursday also designed the visual identity of the Independent School for the City. More info: teamthursday.com
The Independent School for the City teams up with various international institutions for specific projects or programmes. Together with Canactions we're organizing a Spring School in march 2019 and with Syracuse University we're co-organizing a Summer School in June 2019. Also interested in organizing something together? Send us an email.
