Hoogstraat talks: Donna van Milligen Bielke Hoogstraat talks: Donna van Milligen Bielke

In partnership with the Rotterdam Academy of Architecture, the Het Nieuwe Instituut is organising three "Streetwise" lectures with finalists from the 2014 Prix de Rome Architecture. What is the future of Hoogstraat in Rotterdam as a vibrant city street? On 10 December it is the turn of Donna van Milligen Bielke, winner of the 2014 Prix de Rome Architecture!

In her analysis Donna van Milligen Bielke states that architecture and urbanism scarcely complement each other in the centre of Rotterdam. To her, the objective is not to separate architecture and urbanism but rather to integrate them. Her project is an attempt to find a homogeneous urban and architectural equivalent to Rotterdam city centre. A hybrid medium, at a different scale to the voluminous buildings, shapes a multitude of precise public spaces.

Van Milligen Bielke projects a structure that is both ordered and radical over the existing city centre. This framework acts as a cabinet of curiosities, taking the striking architecture of Rotterdam out of its context and showing it in a new way. The urban architecture frames the space and ensures a new sense of public space. Architecture that borders on urbanism thus forms a new vehicle, turning the city centre of Rotterdam into a new spatial experience.

The fictional assignment for the finalists focused on the area in Rotterdam where Hoogstraat and Binnenrotte intersect. The rich history of the location extends back to the 13th century when a dam was built in the River Rotte. Around this dam the city of Rotterdam would eventually spring up. Today, however, it is an uninspiring place where new and old buildings, a busy retail street with some vacant units, a big open-air market and complicated infrastructure all come together in the shadow of Laurens Church and the Market Hall.

The gatherings are organised by Het Nieuwe Instituut and the Rotterdam Academy of Architecture, which is devoting a two-year theme project to the street in Rotterdam and elsewhere entitled 'Streetwise: The Street as Social Space'. The project is supported by the Mondriaan Fund, organiser of the Prix de Rome.

Date: 10/12/ 2014
Time: 8 pm
Location: Het Nieuwe Instituut, Museumpark 25, Rotterdam
Language: Dutch
Entrance fee: ¬ 7.50 / Students free
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