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Participants in the Rietveld@Rietveld educational project reviewing items from the Rietveld archive. Photograph NAI collection
June 2010 | The Municipality of Utrecht has proclaimed 2010 Rietveld Year to establish architect Gerrit Th. Rietveld (1888-1964) as an icon of the city. An extensive programme of activities will celebrate, examine and provide a platform for Rietveld’s life and ideas.
Exhibition: Rietveld’s Universe
Put together in collaboration with the NAI, the Centraal Museum will be hosting a retrospective exhibition called ‘Rietveld’s Universe’ from 20 October 2010 until 11 January 2011. Rietveld’s creative genius is placed in an international context by comparing who he was and the way he worked with such contemporaries as Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe. In this way, ‘Rietveld's Universe’ establishes a clear picture of Rietveld’s contribution to 20th-century architecture and design.
> For more information on the exhibition: Centraal Museum
The NAI is loaning a large number of items from its Rietveld and Theo van Doesburg archives to the exhibition. For more information on these and other loans: Loans
Publication: Rietveld’s Universe
The NAI is also involved in the development of a richly illustrated, academic publication that will appear during the exhibition. The book highlights the context within which Rietveld's work should be seen. It examines his ideas about space, the way in which he shaped space and the mutual influence of his work and that of his contemporaries Mondriaan, Van Doesburg, Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier and Alvar Aalto. The editors are Rob Dettingmeijer, Marie-Thérèse van Thoor and Ida van Zijl.
> For more information about this publication: NAI Publishers
Lectures: Studium Generale (Studium Generale organises lectures, discussions, courses and podium programmes in the fields of science, art and culture)
This autumn Studium Generale is organising a series of lectures on Rietveld and his work.
> For more information on these lectures: Studium Generale
Educational project: Rietveld@Rietveld
In collaboration with Delft University of Technology and the Gerrit Rietveld Academy, the NAI organised the Rietveld@Rietveld educational project. Thirty students worked on a real design commission, namely the extension of the current Rietveld Academy building, for which they made use of one of the most important NAI collections, the Rietveld archive. The project started in January and was wrapped up on 14 June.
Master classes and workshops: Rietveld@NAI
From the autumn of 2010 the NAI will be hosting a number of master classes and model-making workshops, which will all include an introduction to the NAI collection and the Rietveld archive, particularly four Rietveld buildings from the fifties for art classes and exhibitions. The importance of Rietveld’s historical material will be related to current commissions and public debates about these buildings. These master classes are provided at the request of universities and other institutes of higher professional education. For more information about participating, please contact Hetty Berens, NAI curator.
Event: Rietveld Now! Rietveld Nu!
On 15 January 2011 the NAI will be organising a public event: an exploratory tour of the known and unknown paths in Rietveld’s universe. What position do this man and his heritage occupy in our collective minds? Speakers from the Netherlands and abroad, from the world of architecture, design and modern art are invited to present their vision of Rietveld and illustrate their ideas using materials from the Rietveld archive. The podium will be open to academic students and enthusiasts who want to plug ‘their’ favourite Rietveld.
Digitisation: Rietveld archives
In 2009 the NAI started to digitise its archives. Preference was given to scanning a large number of construction files from the Rietveld archives and those of successors Van Dillen and Van Tricht, so that they would be available for the various activities being organised as part of the Rietveld Year.
The Rietveld Year officially starts on 24 June and continues until 30 January 2011. For more information and a complete programme, please go to the website www.rietveldjaar.nl or to the website of the Centraal Museum.
During the Rietveld@Rietveld educational project, items from the Rietveld archive were studied. Photograph NAI collection.
The NAI is on track in becoming a public-focused, socially oriented organization with a clear vision on the significance of architecture. 2010 was a remarkable year. Demanding but successful. See, read and hear all about it in the Digital Annual Report 2010
> Read more...
During the Venice Architecture Biennale 2010, the Netherlands presents Vacant NL, where architecture meets ideas. The exhibition is a call for the intelligent reuse of temporarily vacant buildings around the world in promoting creative enterprise.
> Read more...
March 2010 | At the beginning of this year, the Nirov library –
comprising some 10,000 volumes containing much unique material – was
transferred to the NAI. The priority areas of the collection are public
housing, spatial planning and urban design. All titles will be entered
in the NAI collection database in the course of this year.
> Read more...
There
were two winners in the sixth edition of the biennial Public Space European
Prize this year. The tied first prize went to the open air library in
Magdeburg, Germany by KARO* in collaboration with Architektur+Netzwerk, and to
the Norwegian Opera and Ballet House in Oslo, Norway by the Snohetta firm of
architects. The official presentation will take place on 11 June in Barcelona.
> Read more...
April 2010 | Architect Onno Greiner (1924-2010) died on 26 January this
year. Although best known as a theatre architect, Greiner also made his
mark on the construction of psychiatric care institutions. Reason
for the NAI to include a major part of his archive in its
collection last year.
> Read more...
