Nature of Hope

The eleventh edition of the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR) will open at the Nieuwe Instituut on Saturday, June 29, 2024 with a ceremonial program. The opening symposium on Sunday, June 30 will focus on the theme of this edition, Nature of Hope: on how architecture can restore the ecological balance by taking biodiversity and nature as its starting point. The Nature of Hope exhibition will be on display from the opening on Saturday, June 29 until Sunday, October 13. 

Nature of Hope consists of three main components. In addition to the exhibition in the Nieuwe Instituut it includes an extensive public program and a green route through Rotterdam to visit its so-called Botanical Monuments. At the end of this post, you will find a description of each main component.  

You are cordially invited to attend the ceremonial opening of Nature of Hope to visit the exhibition and ceremonial opening at the Nieuwe Instituut on Saturday, June 29, and to attend the opening symposium on June 30. More information about the program will be available soon. You can RSVP to the opening symposium via mats@dewolven.com. If you would like to attend Nature of Hope but can’t make it during one of these dates, please send us a message: we will be happy to help you find another opportunity. 

The curator team of IABR 2024, led by Saskia van Stein (director IABR), consists of Janna Bystrykh (architect and researcher), Catherine Koekoek (architect-researcher and philosopher), Alina Paias (spatial designer and researcher), Hani Salih (researcher and writer) and Noortje Weenink (researcher and writer). 

Interviews with Saskia van Stein, Janna Bystrykh, Catherine Koekoek, Alina Paias, Hani Salih, and Noortje Weenink are available on request via mats@dewolven.com. 

Nature of Hope 
In the context of the climate crisis and the depletion of natural resources, architecture is searching for an answer to the question of how to build with respect for our natural environment. Nature of Hope focuses on how spatial design can contribute to the preservation of nature and biodiversity, the restoration of ecological balance, and social improvement. Examples of this can be found all over the world, offering promising new ways of thinking and doing in architecture. 

From June 29 to October 13, the IABR will host Nature of Hope, presenting promising trends to both the interested general public and professionals in the field of landscape design, architecture and urbanism. The exhibition will feature forward-looking examples from design practices ranging from successful local initiatives and innovative constructions to ecological working methods and materials. Nature of Hope presents the ingredients for transforming the existing architectural system into one that is guided by the natural ecosystem.  

The Architecture Biennale Rotterdam consists of the following three main components: 

Exhibition in the Nieuwe instituut 
The main location and venue for the Nature of Hope exhibition is the Nieuwe Instituut, the national museum for architecture, design and digital culture in Rotterdam Museum Park. The more than 50 architectural works on display include a wide range of ideas and approaches from different global contexts. There are spatial designs that work with local and biobased materials and contributions from architecture offices that study policy and legislation and from bottom-up citizen initiatives that collaborate with professional practices in entirely new ways. 

The IABR has announced the first names of the exhibition participants: Academic Workshop Soil, Anna Zań, Centro Cooperativista Uruguayo & Stefan Gruber, CHRITH & Emma Diehl, Ekaterina Volkova & Julien Thomas, HouseEurope!, Inside Outside, Kiel Moe, la-di-da, Material Cultures, meta office, MOULD, public works, Ruinorama, Semillas 

Public program 
The Biennale includes an extensive public program with various events, symposia, guided tours, field trips, lectures, and workshops as well as the so-called “Practice Place”: seven events in which (landscape) architects, urban designers, and others are invited to engage in conversation and forge new alliances for the renewal of the field of architecture. The full public program will soon be available on the Biennale website. 

Botanical Monuments—Green Route through Rotterdam 
“Botanical Monuments” consists of a route along about 20 local initiatives in Rotterdam’s green public spaces, including a botanical garden, a food forest, and a swamp. Normally these might go unnoticed, but they represent interesting networks and nature-connected gardening practices that are of great importance for biodiversity. By adding these networks to Nature of Hope, the IABR hopes not only to actively contribute to the awareness that such important initiatives exist and that everyone can contribute, but also that more will emerge over time. The IABR also supports research into existing master plans to realize more such projects. 

The International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR)  
The IABR encourages research by design in the disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture and urbanism. Every two years, the IABR presents a comprehensive, cultural public program that celebrates the imagination of architecture in designing for the humanitarian, spatial, economic, and social consequences of a changing climate. 

If you have any questions, please contact: 
PR and Communications Agency De Wolven, Mats Hopstaken, mats@dewolven.com, T +31 20 620 3354, T +31 6 539 40 535