Russia in Dutch architecture Russia in Dutch architecture

In the 1920s and 1930s, Dutch architects, artists and intellectuals maintained close links with their Russian colleagues. Inspired by the socialist revolution, the Dutch architect Johan Niegeman travelled to the Soviet Union to help build the industrial city of Magnitogorsk. Since Russia's embrace of capitalism, Dutch architects are once again taking an active part in the country's architectural practice. Erick van Egeraat, Paul de Vroom, Han van den Born (KCAP) and Olga Aleksakova from Buro Moscow, talked about their experiences with designing and building in Russia in a discussion evening at The New Institute.

The discussion is taking place in conjunction with the exhibition 'Architecture the Dutch Way 1945-2000', on view at the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, Russia, from Wednesday 16 October through Sunday 12 January. Through more than 200 models, photographs and drawings from The New Institute's collection, the exhibition shows how the Netherlands reshaped itself after the Second World War. The communal ideal made way for more diversity, reflecting society's increasing individualisation. Postwar Dutch architecture and city planning saw society as something that could be engineered and sought to design for "the common man". The exhibition highlights these tendencies and reveals similarities and differences between Dutch and Russian architecture.

This discussion will examine the relationship between the two countries in the context of contemporary building practice. What does the 1989 Russian revolution mean for architecture and urban planning in terms of the disciplines' social mission, knowledge in the design field, and the organisation of the building process? And what role does Western, and specifically Dutch, architectural practice play in these disciplines in Russia?

Programme and speakers

Ellen Smit

Ellen Smit introduced 'Architecture the Dutch Way 1945-2000' and describe the narratived of Dutch postwar architecture with reference to archival items from the collection. Ellen Smit, curator of The New Institute's collection, is one of the compilers of the exhibition at the Hermitage.

Bart Goldhoorn (moderator)

Bart Goldhoorn discussed the history of Dutch-Russian architectural relations in the talk "Russia in Dutch Architectural History: The Influence of Constructivism, 1920-1930 and 1975-1985". Goldhoorn, publisher of the magazine Project Russia and curator of the Moscow Architecture Biennale, is one of the compilers of Architecture the Dutch Way, 1945-2000.

Bart Goldhoorn led a discussion on building and designing in Russia with architects and urban planners. The public is invited to take part. Participants will be:

**Erick van Egeraat**
Van Egeraat is the best known and most experienced Dutch architect working in Russia. He has designed more than 35 projects for the country, four of which have been built, two of them are under construction. Van Egeraat cofounded Mecanoo in 1983. In 1995, he started his own office, Erick van Egeraat Associated Architects, which later became Designed by Erick van Egeraat. Today, the company employs 155 people in Moscow, London, Budapest, Prague and Rotterdam.

**Paul de Vroom**

In recent years, De Vroom has gained abundant experience with residential building projects in Moscow, in a sector dominated by standard high-rise solutions. De Vroom was a partner at DKV Architecten until 2013 and now works as an independent architect in Rotterdam. He also teaches at various universities and academies.

**KCAP Architects & Planners **

KCAP Architects & Planners has built an urban planning practice in Russia that is unequalled by any other Dutch office. Its most noteworthy project is a master plan for the city of Perm that diametrically opposed customary urban planning practice in the post-Soviet era. KCAP was founded in 1989 by Kees Christiaanse and has offices in Rotterdam, Zurich and Shanghai. Han van den Born of KCAP will discuss his experiences with working in Russia.

**Buro Moscow**

Olga Aleksakova is from Russia and graduated cum laude from Delft University of Technology. After having worked at OMA for several years, she returned to Moscow to found Buro Moscow. Like no other she can compare between Dutch and Russian architectural practice.

This programme was organized in cooperation with DutchCulture, center for international cooperation, as part of the wide range cultural programme of the bilateral Netherlands-Russia year 2013.