Independent School for the City

You have only one more day to apply for This is Tomorrow 2025! In this 12-week education programme, taking place from 07 April till 27 June 2025, participants will delve into and investigate the themes of Anthropocene, Migration and Right to the City. The course offers a plethora of lectures, fieldwork, research and design assignments. Designed for young professionals from a diverse range of professional backgrounds, but all committed to cities, this course uses Rotterdam as a research lab for global urban and social issues. Known for its port, diverse population, and architecture, Rotterdam is also a frontline in the fight for justice and equality. As a global trade hub, its developments have far-reaching effects. This is Tomorrow explores how cities shape global challenges like climate change, migration, and urban rights, using research, art, design, history, and architecture to drive change. The programme operates on a four-day workweek (Monday–Thursday) and costs €1,500. Applications must be submitted before 28 February 2025. More info on our website: https://lnkd.in/e-yXdKJZ

On Tuesday 4 March, we will have the third and last session of Back to School with…Andrea Prins - a series focusing on social housing. The main speaker of the evening will be Nicolas Bernard - professor and dean of the Law Faculty at at Université catholique de Louvain (Saint-Louis Bruxelles), specialist in housing law and property law, additionally working as an independent expert in several ministerial cabinets for ten years. In his lecture, Nicolas will question the reasons behind Belgian housing assistance policies being so heavily focused on homeownership, pointing out the benefits, but also the unintended consequences, of this policy. The talk will look at the alternatives—perhaps more social, less costly for the community, more collective, and more ecological—to private, individual, and perpetual ownership, underlining that The Community Land Trust is not the only possibility. How can we rethink our approach to property without falling into collectivism? The event takes place on Tuesday 4 March 2025, 19:00 - 21:00 (doors open and dinner is served at 18:00). Tickets are available for 17,50 euro and include a simple dinner. Find out more about the series check the link: https://lnkd.in/dXrKdiJT

On Tuesday 4 March, we’ll have the last session in the Back to School with… series, curated by researcher and writer Andrea Prins. On this evening, we will focus on the phenomenon of “housing illiteracy” leading to inaccessibility and inequality within the housing sector. We’ll have two amazing speakers. The first one is Nicolas Bernard, professor of law at Université Catholique de Louvain (Saint-Louis Bruxelles), where he serves as dean of the faculty, specialist in housing and property law. The other is Andrea Verdecchia from Time to Access, an Amsterdam-based platform devoted to developing participative forms of housing accessible for all. Together with Andrea Prins and the speakers, we will discuss alternatives to ownership and explore what can be done about this illiteracy. Why does property hold such fascination today? What values does this promotion of property convey? What are the benefits, but also the unintended consequences, of this policy? And, most importantly, are there alternatives—perhaps more social, less costly for the community, more collective, and more ecological—to private, individual, and perpetual ownership? The event takes place on Tuesday 04 March 2025, 19:00 - 21:00 (doors open and dinner is served at 18:00). Tickets are available for 17,50 euro and include a simple dinner. Find out more about the series check the link:  https://lnkd.in/dXrKdiJT

Join us Friday for School’s Out! with Catherine Mosbach from the Paris-based design firm mosbach paysagiste. She will talk about their layered and temporal approach to landscape architecture. With mosbach paysagiste, Catherine has worked extensively on large-scale projects in urban landscapes with high heritage and environmental value. Catherine will talk about "singularities", explaining how communicating, exchanging and sharing, form a keystone, an alliance between beings and environments - above & below the surface. While we grasp a very small part of what is available beyond the visible and instant knowledge of the present, she argues that landscape architects must invest and initiate ways of multipurposes forms throughout time and space, with instruments and dynamics made available to as many people as possible. This will be the last School’s Out! at Delftsestraat, before we move to our new location in March, so don’t miss it! As always, tickets are available for 5 euro here https://lnkd.in/e2q63ZcP. Find more info on our website https://lnkd.in/eJKppppT

Join us next week on Friday 28 February for School’s Out! With Catherine Mosbach. This will be the last School’s Out! on our location at Delftsestraat, as we will relocate to Het Archief on the Robert Fruinstraat 52 in Rotterdam in March. For this evening, Catherine will delve into the concept of “singularities”, an exploration of how communicating, exchanging and sharing form a keystone, an alliance between beings and environments - above & below the surface. In her talk, she will challenge us to think beyond the visible and immediate, urging landscape architects to invest and initiate ways of multipurposes forms throughout time and space, with instruments and dynamics made available to as many people as possible. The discussion will address the question of how we, as designers, navigate the complex interplay between creative production and external influences. Should we adapt to the brand-driven economy, question the role of ecolabeling, or focus on producing landscapes that foster real images and visual coalitions? Landscapes that strengthen the social imagination, allowing us to remain connected to where we come from and where we are headed. The talk by Cahterine Mosbach will be preceded by a short introduction by Peter Veenstra (LOLA landscape architects) and followed by the short movie “Trees of Rotterdam” by Alice Ladenburg and Ollie Palmer. Tickets for the evening are available for 5 euro here https://lnkd.in/e2q63ZcP. Find more info on our website https://lnkd.in/eJKppppT Images by Catherine Mosbach

With a heavy heart, the Independent School for the City is being forced by the Municipality of Rotterdam to leave our wonderful home at the Delftsestraat to make way for a hotel development. But the good news is: We found an amazing new space on the top floor of "Het Archief" on the Robert Fruinstraat 52 in Rotterdam. To festively start this new chapter, we are organising a School’s Out! XL housewarming edition. For the occasion we’ve invited the Guardian's architecture and design critic Oliver Wainwright, who will talk about "The New Utopias" and how city building is being weaponised like never before. Afterwards we’ll continue the party with DJ’s Steve Balearics and Lotus until late. We hope you all come and join us in making this new space our home! The event will take place on Friday 28th March, at the address Robert Fruinstraat 52 in Rotterdam. The doors will open at 19:00, and the lecture of Oliver Wainwright will begin at 20:15. You can get your tickets and find more information here: https://lnkd.in/dSvU3usm

Just over one week left to apply for this year’s This is Tomorrow programme - a unique 12-week course about the Anthropocene, Right to the City and Migration! What do The Student Hotel, The Lee Towers, Flexhotel Zuiderpark, and Pauluskerk have in common? They all host the temporary inhabitants of the city, each in its own way. But what do they reveal about migration, housing, and belonging? In the thematic block on Migration: “We, The Temporary”, we’ll analyse Rotterdam as a city of comings and goings - whether for expats starting a new chapter in their lives, students pursuing their education career, seasonal workers who are supporting our economy, or  undocumented migrants who are struggling to survive. Through real-life case studies, we’ll explore: 🏢 The Lee Towers—housing everyone from short-term guests to penthouse residents 🏙️ The Social Hub—offering perks for stays of two weeks or more 🛏️ Flexhotel Zuiderpark—a seasonal workers’ accommodation ⛪ Pauluskerk—a refuge for undocumented migrants Join us in uncovering the stories behind these spaces and the people that live in them. Applications close soon—don’t miss your chance! https://lnkd.in/e-yXdKJZ Image 1: wikicommons-Prolete / Image 2: Google Maps-NadanaFrehe-Werner / / Image 3: Gemeente Rotterdam / Image 4: wikicommons-JakobHosp

With a heavy heart, the Independent School for the City is being forced by the Municipality of Rotterdam to leave our wonderful home at the Delftsestraat to make way for a hotel development. But the good news is: We found an amazing new space on the top floor of "Het Archief" on the Robert Fruinstraat 52 in Rotterdam. To festively start this new chapter, we are organising a School’s Out! XL housewarming edition. For the occasion we’ve invited the Guardian's architecture and design critic Oliver Wainwright, who will talk about "The New Utopias" and how city building is being weaponised like never before. Afterwards we’ll continue the party with DJ’s Steve Balearics and Lotus until late. We hope you all come and join us in making this new space our home! The event will take place on Friday 28th March, at the address Robert Fruinstraat 52 in Rotterdam. The doors will open at 19:00, and the lecture of Oliver Wainwright will begin at 20:15. You can get your tickets and find more information here: https://lnkd.in/dSvU3usm

Reminder! Tomorrow evening, 18 February, we will host the second session of Back to School with... Andrea Prins. This time, along with the lectures of Bernd Vlay and Anne-Jo Visser we will focus on how on how ‘social’ could reflect a broader societal responsibility, looking at the examples from Vienna and Amsterdam. Get the last available tickets here: https://lnkd.in/dS2yqX9j

Our next speaker for School’s Out! On February 28th is landscape architect catherine mosbach founder of the Paris-based design firm mosbach paysagistes. Catherine Mosbach has extensive experience working on large-scale urban landscape projects, particularly in areas with significant heritage and environmental value. Her office operates across various scales and landscapes, aiming to harmonize natural resources with urban and cultural elements. Her projects include the Botanical Garden of Bordeaux, the Archaeological Park of Solutré, Louvre Lens Museum Park and more recently Phase Shifts Park in Taichung. These sites clearly expose the environmental, cultural, economic & urban dynamics linked to the constant mutations of contemporary life. Tickets for the evening are available for 5 euro here https://lnkd.in/e2q63ZcP. Find more info on our website https://lnkd.in/eJKppppT Image 1: Catherine Mosbach. Portrait from Claude Waehemacker Image 2: Botanical Garden of Bordeaux, flickr @maxime.soens Image 3: Louvre Lens Museum Park, flickr @bradman334 Image 4: Phase Shifts Park in Taichung