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Arts and Architecture Festival
03.05.2024, 10:00 — 22:00Arts and Architecture Festival
Cherish or Destroy
Arts and Architecture Festival
03.05.2024, 10:00 — 22:00Arts and Architecture Festival
Biographies
Dr. Eric Bolle specializes in Hölderlin, Schelling, Nietzsche, and Heidegger. He translated Hölderlin's works on Sophocles and Pindarus, published extensively on philosophy and architecture in magazines and authored the book 'Tussen. Tussen architectuur en filosofie' (Between. Between architecture and philosophy) published by VUB Press in Brussels in 1992. Bolle has taught in secondary and higher education. He served as Head of Spatial Planning at the Province of North Brabant, and as Director of the Academy for Architecture & Urban Planning at Fontys University of Arts. His current research focuses on death in the works of Rilke, Trakl, Bataille, and Blanchot.
Tomas Dirrix has an architecture practice based in Rotterdam, Atelier Tomas Dirrix. Since the start it has been working from a cultural and material notion of building. Atelier Tomas Dirrix carries out a diverse range of work, including residential, cultural and public buildings, and including permanent and temporary commissions. The practice was founded after winning the Meesterproef competition for emerging Belgian and Dutch architects in 2017, organised by the Vlaams bouwmeester. In 2018, Atelier Tomas Dirrix won the Unfair Architect Award for the design of the biennial contemporary art exhibition. In 2019, Atelier Tomas Dirrix received the ARC19 Young Architect Award.
Elettra Fiumi is a director, producer and editor. Her documentaries focus on portraits that explore themes of discovery, innovation and sense of place. She’s told the stories of people, brands and places across nations and industries, including in technology, adventure travel, fashion, art, architecture and education. Since moving to Switzerland and founding Fiumi Studios, Elettra has built a strong and passionate team, whilst also teaching various production and journalism related classes as an adjunct professor at the Franklin University Switzerland. She’s also involved in many different associations: she’s part of the executive committee of the Swiss Women's Audiovisual Network (SWAN), has founded the Italian branch of the Video Consortium organization, has collaborated with the Business Professional Women (BPW) association and had a video column in the magazine Ticino Management Donna.
Gijs Frieling was educated at the Rietveld academie (1986-1991) and the Rijksakademie (1994-1996), both in Amsterdam, he won the Royal prize for painting in 1994, a shared third prize Prix de Rome for painting in 1999 and the Cobra art prize in 2009. From 2006 - 2010 he was director and chief curator of the W139 art space in Amsterdam. Currently he works as the senior art advisor for the Office of the Dutch Chief Government Architect and in that capacity responsible for the Dutch government percentage for art rule. He is chair of the board of Plaatsmaken in Arnhem and member of the board of the Meudon huis foundation. He was supervisory board member of the Mondriaan Fund from 2011-2020, a member of the jury for the Dutch Royal prize for painting from 2015-2019 and chair a.i. of this jury 2020. Since a couple of years, he mostly works in close collaboration with Job Wouters under the moniker FreelingWaters.
Erik Hehenkamp studied architecture and theatre design. The change of things is a significant theme in his work. Projects are always time-related, considering aspects such as day and night, seasons, and life cycles. With the passage of time, material decay, atmospheres and climates change. Hehenkamp emphasizes the importance of utilizing these changes to create dynamic architecture and immersive designs. Light and sound serve as design tools, alongside the deliberate use of aging materials. Hehenkamp operates Ontwerpers Adam, an architecture and experiences firm based in Amsterdam. He also mentors graduating students at Explore Lab, Extreme studio of TU Delft. Recently, he mentored students from the Heritage & Architecture studio of Delft, focusing on the transformation of Marcel Breuer's American Embassy. Some of his work can be viewed on ontwerpersadam.com.
Jelle Hettema is an architect and architectural historian. After finishing his masters at the VU University in Amsterdam and TU Delft University in 2019, he started working as a researcher at SteenhuisMeurs. In 2021, he joined the team of the Board of Government Advisors (College van Rijksadviseurs/Atelier Rijksbouwmeester), an independent advisory board on spatial quality for the Dutch central government.
Maarten van Kesteren runs an architecture office in The Hague and teaches from time to time at the Heritage studio of the TU Delft. He works on the transformation of buildings and landscapes. Recently his office completed their first major project: the transformation of a craft school in Utrecht.
Moriko Kira, born in Tokyo, Japan, is the director of Moriko Kira Architect in Amsterdam. She's a Guest Professor at Meiji University and Kobe Design University. Specializing in inclusive design, she engages diverse stakeholders in architectural projects, fostering dynamic living environments. She served on Amsterdam's 17th-century area design committee, was named Architect of the Year in 2010, and she received the Dedalo Minuses Prize in 2022. Notable projects include the Catshuis in The Hague and the Museum Sieboldhuis in Leiden. Kira emphasizes the architects' role in addressing societal challenges like aging populations and housing shortages.
John Körmeling studied architecture at the Eindhoven University of Technology. He therefore sees himself as an architect, despite his diverse artistic pursuits. For Körmeling, architecture is not just building art, but also urban planning, design, and visual art. His work blurs the line between art and architecture, exploring the concept of 'space' in innovative ways. Notable projects include the 'Drive-in wheel' (1999) in Utrecht, the 'Rotating house' (2008) in Tilburg, and the Dutch pavilion 'Happy Street' for Expo 2010 in Shanghai. Recent work includes: 'Watchtower, Say hello to the sunbird' (2016, Takamatsu), 'The World in Straight Lines' (2017, National Archives, The Hague), 'Pavilion for the Birdwatcher' (2019, Prins Hendrikzanddijk, Texel), and 'Open Window' (2020, LLS Paleis, Antwerp).
Susanna Lindberg is a professor of continental philosophy at the University of Leiden, Netherlands. She is a specialist in German idealism, phenomenology, and contemporary French philosophy. In recent years, her research has focused on the question of technology, and she has also worked on the philosophical question of art. In her new research, she will focus on ecological questions. She has authored and edited a diverse array of publications, including books such as ‘From Technological Humanity to Bio-Technical Existence’ and ‘Le monde défait’, as well as contributions to edited volumes like ‘Cum - Weiterdenken mit Jean-Luc Nancy’ and ‘The Ethos of Digital Environments’.
Michiel van Loon gained experience at several architecture firms in the Netherlands and abroad. Michiel joined Mei architects and planners in 2012 and became a full partner in the firm in 2022. Michiel is mainly interested in projects with high complexity and layering of existing and new buildings. Reserving space - within residential buildings, projects and cities - is Michiel's favourite subject. It is his expertise to switch between city, building, user and detail level on different scales. Michiel holds various social positions. He regularly appears as a guest speaker at various courses and architectural debates. Since 2023, he has been an architect member of the Environmental Quality Team Arnhem South. As of 2024, Michiel is a member of the Advisory Committee on Spatial Quality of the City of Breda.
Lidy Meijers currently works at the Department of Architectural Engineering & Technology, Delft University of Technology. Meijers conducts research through design in Heritage & Architecture. As the Head Mentor of Architecture in master studios focusing on heritage of built structures, Meijers leads design and research projects, including maritime heritage, waterdriehoek including world heritage Kinderdijk, and postwar modern malls in The Hague, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Eindhoven, and others. The most recent publication is ‘The Future of Structuralism’ (2020). In spatial design, she explores the challenges and design strategies in our ever-changing society, particularly for existing buildings and ensembles. She is fascinated by the issues that arise during the design process and can lead her towards a result.
Phoebus Panigyrakis’ research focuses on the relationship between architecture and media, particularly how their dynamic influences design processes. Phoebus holds a PhD in architectural history, and his current postdoctoral research, funded by EU Horizon 2020, explores Open Science & Citizen Science at TU Delft. Additionally, he is the founder of Iconic Ironic Architecture, a practice engaged in architectural, curatorial, and publishing projects.
Jan van der Ploeg is like a grammarian if abstraction is considered a language. His visual language is reduced to a set of essential parameters, but he goes wild within that restricted space. Van Der Ploeg’s paintings consequently inhabit another dimension in the non-objective universe, taking a decisive path at the crossroads of contraction and expansion. He took the exit toward contraction and reduction. Or towards the realm, Mies van der Rohe famously consecrated with the phrase “less is more.” His most recent work draws inspiration from record sleeve designs by Josef Albers for Command Records in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Like Albers, Van Der Ploeg economizes his visual repertoire only to turn what might be minimal into maximal compositional inventions. Written by Shane McAdams.
Christian Smith studied architecture and urbanism at TU Delft in the ’90. Moved on to work for Jo Coenen & Co in various offices and positions between 1999 - 2004. From 2006 -2015 Chris setup an architectural office Aurora Architects based in Paramaribo, Suriname. He took up teaching in the same period and expanded this side of his professional life at the TU Delft from 2016 until now. He currently divides his time between teaching at TU Delft and urban planning for municipality Lansingerland.
Elian Somers has a background in photography and architecture; she investigates the urban and utopian landscape, in particular, the interplay between architecture and urban planning, ideologies, and (geo)politics. In recent years, she has been working on long-term, research-based projects such as 'A Mountain Afar' (2023-), 'A Stone from the Moon' (2015-2022), and 'Border Theories' (2009-2013). These works can be perceived as critical tools for understanding and figuring out the present and the future. Through the combination of photography, film, cartography, and archival materials, Somers explores alternative and unexpected perspectives on reality, truth, and history. She draws from both documented and accepted knowledge sources, as well as their undocumented and controversial counterparts. Her works have been shown at various international exhibitions. 'Ecumenopolis' (A Stone from the Moon, 2015-2022) was selected for the International Film Festival Rotterdam, IFFR 2024.
Marcel Teunissen is an architectural historian specializing in The Hague architecture of the 19th and 20th centuries. He is active as a researcher, teacher, and publisher. Among his publications are the books: ‘100 Years of the New Hague School’ (2018), "Architecture and Building History in Perspective" (2018), and "Architecture in Bergen" (2022).
Jacob Voorthuis is an Associate Professor in the Department of the Built Environment, Architectural Urban Design and Engineering, and Director of Studies of the Architecture Urbanism and Building Science Bachelor Program at TU/e. He is specialized in Art Theory and Aesthetics and has a special interest in the relationship between spatial practice and design. His research is concerned with the possibility of conceiving and judging designs and design decisions from the perspective of a developing ontology of use, the attempt to remodel our conception of use and the useful in design thinking.
Christopher de Vries is founding partner at Rademacher / de Vries and teacher in Heritage and Architecture at the Delft University of Technology. He graduated as an architect at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2011 and received his bachelor's degree from the Delft University of Technology. During his studies he worked for West 8 and Jo Coenen Architects. In the US he was part of the Harvard GSD: New Geographies Lab and later worked at OPSYS Landscape Infrastructure. During his studies, he founded two research groups that examined contemporary issues of urbanization: Urban Emergencies and the European Infrastructure Lab. Between 2012 and 2014 he worked at ZUS in Rotterdam, after which he taught at the department of Landscape arhitecture at the Delft University of Technology. Between 2018 and 2021 he was research fellow at Future Urban Regions.
Anne Wellmer | nonlinear, is a composer, performer, sound and media artist, born to be angry in Germany (1966), raised to be wild in Canada, the US and Germany, and educated to be noisy in the Netherlands. Two weeks before 9/11 she moved to the US to study experimental music with Alvin Lucier. Back in The Hague, she disclosed the archive of the Dutch pioneer of electronic music Dick Raaijmakers. These days she divides her time between Den Haag and Berlin, where she teaches experimental music at the Berlin University of the Arts, at the department of Art and Media. Anne is a member of the Society for Nontrivial Pursuits in Berlin, and a founding member of New Emergences in Den Haag.
Wouter Willers is working as an independent architect in Rotterdam and is a lecturer at the chair Heritage and Design at the TU Delft Faculty of Architecture and built environment.