New educational programme 2020-2021

Summerschool: Against the Smooth City: August 3–7
Researching contemporary urban smoothness together with Failed Architecture

Urban Tissue Weaving: August 13–September 25
Understanding the principles of weaving as a metaphor for urban planning

Film & Architecture Studio: September 30–October 3
A crash course on filmmaking in relation to city and architecture, with AFFR
 
Let’s Be R€al: October 16–29
Exploring new development strategies for collective affordable housing with Crimson and Urban-Think Tank

Superdiversity - Research By Photography: November 19–27
Researching superdiversity and its manifestations in Rotterdam by means of photography

Dirty Old Town: Act Now: February 1–April 23
A 3-month programme on contemporary urbanism: open to all disciplines

The Independent School for the City is extremely happy to announce its new educational programme for 2020-2021! While the past three months have seen the biggest urban crises in nearly a century wreak havoc on some of our cities, we have used this time to completely retool our programme for 2020 and 2021. Although no one knows in which world we will live while bringing the courses into practice, we have learned that our cities have endless surprises and shocks in stock for us, from death and destruction to forms of collective innovation and creation. We have seen our cities for what they actually are, when all their commercial glamour and political posturing was swept away by the events of our times. Now that public life is slowly picking up again, it’s time to start thinking about their urban futures. That’s why we are confident and excited to present to you our new corona-proof programme! 

From August onwards we’ll be restarting our activities with two great summer courses: our one-week Summer School “Against the Smooth City” in collaboration with Failed Architecture, and the almost contemplative workshop “Urban Tissue Weaving” with Bart Gorter and Ernst van der Hoeven. As always, we’ll use the city of Rotterdam as our point of departure, to completely unravel it during our 3-month intensive course “Dirty Old Town”. At the same time, we’ll work on understanding how industrial cities all over the world are dependent on some of the most destructive flows of goods that we know. We’ll explore film as a research tool together with the Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam. You will be offered the possibility of becoming a participating observer of the mindboggling social complexity of a superdiverse city. Or, you become a public minded architect and planner and learn how to develop new models for collective affordable housing together with Crimson and Alfredo Brillembourg.

So: take of your masks, rub your hands and browse through our offering for the next months. We are looking forward to meet you, right here in Rotterdam, very soon.*
 

What is the Independent School for the City?
The Independent School for the City is a platform for urban professionals to explore the complexity and contradictions of the global city. Social Sciences, Economy, Planning, Design, History and other “urban studies” are brought together in a trans-disciplinary community of learning. The School has deep roots and a strong presence in the city of Rotterdam and is part of a wide and diverse international network of practices and institutions.

The Independent School for the City builds on the belief that strategies for the city should be based on real, first hand, empirical research. Today’s cities demand a new kind of urbanism, both as a practice and as a field of research. Urgent challenges such as climate change, migration and inequality will be at the heart of the School’s programme. These topics have not only intensified in recent years but have also become inextricably linked. To withstand the onslaught of reality, our cities do not just need to be redesigned but also re-thought. We can no longer afford to separate the conceptual from the practical, the political from the technical, the form and the content when dealing with today’s cities. Cultural identity and physical resilience, technological innovation and new narratives are different dimensions of our approach.

*All courses are subject to corona measures. Depending on the situation around the start of course, it may or may not take place. Because of this uncertainty, you can register for our courses by sending an email to Info [​at​] schoolforthecity.nl. Most courses work on a first come, first served basis, except for our 3-month programme Dirty Old Town which has a specific application process. More info on our website