Multispecies Studio VisitMultispecies Studio Visit

This special iteration of Studio Visits initiates a cross-pollination of multiple Rotterdam-based studios involved with multispecies approaches to the design practice in the city. So far, cities have been developed almost exclusively as human habitats. Instead, these studios engage with the needs of microbiological, plant, and animal life, next to those of humans.

A tour of De Urbanisten, the Spongegarden, DaF-architecten, and Essenburgpark will serve as a catalyst for debate, for strategising urban policies and actions, for collaboration, forms of solidarity and friendship as well as competition, and for -why not?- architectural gossip. Studio Visits is also a space in which to reformulate the social position of the architect in a fundamentally changed field of influence, collectively exploring possible roles and responsibilities. The program will be concluded with drinks in the Keile District.

Previous Studio Visits were hosted by offices with diverse spatial configurations, forms of practice and portfolios, including Powerhouse Company, Casanova+Hernandez, Lilith Ronner van Hooijdonk, LOLA Landscape Architects, MVRDV, Rotterdam's Urban Development Team, Shift architecture urbanism and Team Paul de Vroom + Sputnik, UNStudio, PosadMaxwan, and KAAN Architecten.

These Studio Visits are organised as part of the _Multispecies Urbanism_ learning trail of the Neuhaus curriculum. Multispecies Urbanism focuses on inclusive forms of urban development, taking the needs of all species that inhabit a city into consideration.

De Urbanisten are an office for urban research, design, and landscape, founded by Florian Boer and Dirk van Peijpe in 2008. They work on a wide variety of projects ranging from urban water-cycle plans to flood defence research for entire cities. De Voedseltuin, or Sponge Garden, next door to their office is designed to act like a sponge to moderate extreme water flows caused by heavy rain after long dry spells. This space also serves as a laboratory for the office to experiment with new concepts for collecting, retaining, and returning rainwater.

DaF-architecten was founded in 1998 by Catherine Visser, Daan Bakker, and Paul van der Voort. Their projects exclusively come about through the active involvement of residents and the public to focus on interpreting existing natural, historical, or social values. Their work encompasses landscape design in the urban fringe, heritage and archaeology, reuse, and healthcare. As both designers and residents, they were actively engaged in the conception of the Spoortuin, as well as the Essenburgpark in Rotterdam on a residual strip alongside the railway. Rather than a recreational landscape, these places are characterised by a wilderness where humans are guests instead of inhabitants.

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