On March 18, the Jaap Bakema Study Centre and Archis/Volume will host the presentation of the book Jaap Bakema and the Open Society, the first extensive publication on the Dutch architect Jaap Bakema, his ideas and ideals for society at large. With Dirk van den Heuvel, Brita Bakema, Arnold Reijndorp, Dick van Gameren, Frans Hooykaas, and Herman Hertzberger.

From Vitruvius and Villard de Honnecourt up till Building Information Modeling (BIM), the art of architectural design has been propelled by an ongoing process of division of labor within the building industry. In his lecture, Michiel Riedijk investigated what this process implies for both practice and education in architecture.

On June 29, an exhibition of dismantled building components of the former building of the Ministry of Social Affairs was held in situ during the final review of Studio Rotor: Deconstruction. The session marked the end of an intensive ten-week workshop programme with TU Delft Visiting Professors Lionel Devlieger and Maarten Gielen of the Brussels-based office Rotor. The programme combined an international conference at TU Delft and archival seminars at Het Nieuwe Instituut, with analyses of case studies, site visits, and radical redesign.

On June 16 2017 the Jaap Bakema Study Centre convened a symposium on the pressing issue of affordable housing, its architecture and planning. The symposium was part of the International Social Housing Festival 2017 and brought together a range of international scholars and designers: Kenny Cupers, Anne Kockelkorn, Jörg Stollmann, René Boer, Mirjana Milanovic, and Dick van Gameren. 

The symposium Crossovers brought together a vibrant network of Ph.D. researchers, professional, and experts to discuss from diverse perspectives current issues affecting the built environment: circularity, informality, and digital craftsmanship. They reflected on the state of the art of doctoral research in the Netherlands on the fields of architecture, history, theory, urbanism, real estate and building technology. With short presentations by Ph.D. researchers, talks and responses by Janneke van Kersen, Siebe Bakker, Ton Bastein, Alex Jachnow, Marta-Malé Alemany, and a keynote lecture by Dietmar Offenhuber.

What exactly is an architectural drawing today? How are authorship and originality re-conceptualised in an age of electronic reproduction? From beautiful BIM to the immortal quality of the hand-drawn. In collaboration with the Jaap Bakema Study Centre. With architect and artist Will Alsop.

By ‘queering’ the discipline of architecture, we sought to discuss new ways to arrive at an inclusive approach to architecture and urban planning from the LGBT perspective. Speakers included Jasmine Rault, who wrote a book on Eileen Gray and Sapphic modernity; Henry Urbach, who organized the exhibition Queer Space in New York in 1994; Wolfgang Voigt, who is preparing a book publication on gay architects together with Uwe Bresan; and Riëtte van der Werff who is building a project for LGBT-seniors in Amsterdam.

Maarten Gielens' lecture was the closing event of the two-day conference 'Research on Display. The Architecture Exhibition as a Model for Knowledge Production' organised by the Jaap Bakema Study Centre together with TU Delft. 

The Jaap Bakema Study Centre organised the second Total Space research workshop on November 2nd in Het Nieuwe Instituut. The research workshop was part of the research project into structuralism, and is part of the preparations for an exhibition at Het Nieuwe Instituut in 2017. The workshop aimed to explore current developments in the digital realm and their impact on city planning and architecture.

Discussion about the current definition of 'social space', which was so vital to the architects of structuralism. The space where people meet is now a virtual realm too. How do spatial designers and digital designers see this new social space?

A number of structuralist buildings have recently undergone major renovation to meet current requirements, or have lost their original function. Are these buildings indeed designed in such a way that new occupants – in another time and for another purpose – are able to appropriate them? Is successful reuse possible? During (Re-)Using Structuralism, Het Nieuwe Instituut assesses the subject with researchers, architects, occupants, owners and performers.

On October 28, the Jaap Bakema Study Centre hosted a first PhD Workshop organized between gta/ETH Zurich and the department of architecture at the TU Delft. The central topic concerned archives of modern architecture and PhD research. 

Het Nieuwe Instituut cordially invites you to the festive opening of Structuralism  on Saturday 20 September, at 4.30 pm. The exhibition will be officially opened at 5 pm. Children are especially welcome and can join an exclusive preview of the exhibition at 4:45 pm.

The Venice Architecture Biennale opened on Saturday 7 June. Director Rem Koolhaas has invited the curators of all national pavilions to present exhibitions that respond to the theme ‘Absorbing Modernity: 1914-2014’. On Thursday 19 June Het Nieuwe Instituut welcomes the curators of the Dutch and the British Biennale pavilions.