Ole Bouman (direcyor of the NAI) and Ronald Rietveld (Rietveld Landscape)
The installation in the Netherlands Pavilion for the Venice Architecture
Biennale 2010 shows that architecture can contribute
to pinpointing and solving societal problems. The exhibition Vacant
NL, where
architecture meets ideas is curated by Rietveld Landscape
for the Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAI). Ole Bouman (Director
of the
NAI) and Ronald Rietveld (founder of Rietveld Landscape) give their answers to
questions
about the exhibition.
The NAI wants to
inspire designers, property developers and policy-makers to come up with
architecture that is not just functional and aesthetically pleasing, but which
also sets a positive change in motion. The NAI is developing the innovation
agenda Architecture of Consequence on the basis of this idea. Choosing Rietveld
Landscape to curate the Dutch presentation at the Venice Architecture Biennale
was a natural one, as the firm has a reputation for bringing about change by
combining forces and linking disciplines.
Ole Bouman,
director of the NAI: ‘Rietveld Landscape stands for a particular approach to
professional practice. They are good at combining theory and practice, at
combining assignments that seem to be independent of one another, and at
cooperating with other parties, which often results in new insights.’
What was the
assignment that the NAI gave to Rietveld Landscape?
Ole Bouman: ‘We
invited Rietveld Landscape to issue a statement within the contours of Architecture
of Consequence on the
capacity of landscape architecture to contribute to resolving major societal
issues. They decided to tackle the theme of the creation of value and to reveal
the hidden potential of vacant property in the Netherlands. Vacant NL, where
architecture meets ideas shows that architecture really can make a difference.’
What is there
to see in the Netherlands Pavilion?
Ronald Rietveld:
‘The first thing that strikes you when you enter the pavilion is that it is
empty. The building itself has been vacant for more than 39 years, making it
one of the thousands of vacant premises that stand on Dutch soil.
We
decided to emphasize the vacancy of the pavilion during the architecture
biennale. The experience of the empty space will sink into visitors, and only
then will they discover the hidden installation, which reveals the quantity and diversity of temporarily
available property in the Netherlands.’
What is the
statement that is issued?
Ronald Rietveld:
‘Our installation invites society to make use of the enormous potential of
unoccupied buildings from the 17th, 18th, 19th,
20th and 21st centuries. Temporary use can give a
positive impulse, can inspire and create the conditions for innovation within
the creative knowledge economy. Our starting point is the political ambition of
the Netherlands to attain a position among the top five knowledge economies in
the world. The transition to a creative knowledge economy of that scale calls
for specific spatial conditions. We focus on the conditions for what the
government calls the ‘key sector creative industry’. In our opinion, innovation
in the creative industry stands to gain from cross-fertilisation and
face-to-face contact with people from the world of science and technology.
Innovation often results from entering into dialogue with people who confront
the same issues from a different perspective. In addition, the availability of
affordable, inspiring workplaces is very important for young talent. It is
precisely the enormous quantity and variation of vacant property that offers a
large potential for temporary use. Especially in combination with more flexible
regulations, it challenges them to take part in a range of innovative
experiments.’
What is the
difference between your approach and the allocation of new functions that is
already taking place in many situations at the moment?
Ronald Rietveld:
‘A novel feature of our project is its link with the Knowledge Investment
Agenda of the Dutch government. If you set out from that national ambition, you
make different choices. Vacant NL, where architecture meets ideas is therefore a call to the national
government, and in particular to the future Minister of Innovation, to make use
of vacant property for this agenda. We are interested in the period between
when a property becomes vacant and its reallocation or demolition. At the
moment reallocation takes up an enormous amount of time because it requires
endless consultations and a change in the zoning plan. Furthermore, inspiring,
temporary use of locations in the creative industry offer the possibility of
linking the networks of young creative entrepreneurs and scientists. This
promotes experiment and entrepreneurship. Design and architecture have remained
isolated from other disciplines for too long, and science is on an island too.
Now there is a need for cross-fertilisation to achieve the innovation that
complex assignments require. We are particularly targeting government property
that stands empty for a week or up to ten years, but of course we hope that the
good example of the government will produce a spin-off in the direction of the
market. By the way, experiments of this kind can also offer insight into the
possibilities of a location in the longer term, as the interim use of the
Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam has shown.’
What is the
relation between your vision and Architecture of Consequence, the innovation agenda of the NAI?
Ronald Rietveld:
‘The link with the urgent societal themes that Architecture of Consequence targets is threefold. First, our proposal
is about finding new economic value. Vacancy has an enormous potential for
society and for the (creative) economy that is barely used at the moment. We
focus on the transition to a creative knowledge economy. Second, from the
perspective of sustainability, the reuse of vacant property is a wise option.
Third, the urgent issues call for innovation, and not just a little, but plenty
of it – in fact, for a culture in which design and innovation play a key role.
An important question is how we can activate the very many talents from various
backgrounds within the creative knowledge economy. If architecture really wants
to make a relevant contribution to the major challenges facing society, it is
necessary to form alliances with researchers, interested parties and
specialists.’
What does the
NAI hope to set in motion by this?
Ole Bouman: ‘We
show that the design capacity is not confined to new buildings, but can also be
found in reuse. We want to see that theme put higher on the international
agenda. We show that you can also be creative with what is already there,
though perhaps less with regard to form than in organisational capacity. The
exhibition is an open invitation to talent from all over the world to make use
of the hidden value in our society. But it is also a call for an innovative and
tolerant Netherlands that is bright about attracting talent. Anyone who claims
to promote innovation with social real estate must also be prepared to invite
the most innovative minds from all over the world and to make use of them.’
What would
make the exhibition a success?
Ole Bouman: ‘I
would be delighted if the current interest in recycling turned out not to be an
ephemeral hype but really something with which architecture can still continue
for a good many years. Architecture is not just about new buildings for old
functions, but also new functions in old buildings. It would be a splendid
result if a number of matches really were to be organised between creative
talent and the world of real estate, which could lead to unexpected development
sites.’
Ronald Rietveld:
‘We hope that the installation will inspire people and trigger a more ambitious
way of thinking about the potential of temporary reuse. We also hope that the
new Minister of Innovation will see that good spatial conditions are of inestimable
value in the creative knowledge economy.’
For more information
www.labiennale.org,
www.architectureofconsequence.nl,
www.rietveldlandscape.com
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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.
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Exhibition
| 29/08/10-21/11/10
Thousands of buildings in the Netherlands lie vacant. Some of them for a
week or a few months, many even for years. During the twelfth Venice
Architecture Biennale, the Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAI) and
Rietveld Landscape will highlight the huge potential of all that temporarily
unoccupied space. The exhibition Vacant NL, where architecture meets ideas is
on show from 29 August to 21 November 2010 in the Dutch pavilion.
> Read more...
Architecture fans from all over the
world will be heading for Italy at the end of August for the twelfth Venice
Architecture Biennale. The installation in the Dutch pavilion shows that
architecture can contribute to pinpointing and solving the complex challenges
facing the world at the moment. The exhibition will be presented by the
Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAI) and curated by Rietveld Landscape. The
Biennale will be held from 29 August to 21 November 2010.
> Read more...
24 architecture designers take the lead. Assessing what society needs now. Pursuing strategies the market is hesitant to explore.
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How to deal with vacant buildings as a social, economical and cultural challenge? This was the main question in a debate on Saturday, August 28, 2009 in the Dutch Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2010. The debate was organized by the NAI and Volume and is consistent with the installation in the Dutch Pavilion: Vacant NL, where architecture meets ideas.
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