Architecture of AppropriationArchitecture of Appropriation

Together with René Boer (Failed Architecture) en and the Built Environment Department at TU Eindhoven, over the past few months Het Nieuwe Instituut has been investigating five very different examples of locations in Amsterdam and Rotterdam that were either formerly squatted or still are: the ADM terrein, het Poortgebouw, Plantage Dok, Wijde Heisteeg 7 en Vluchtmaat.

These five places - varying from a city centre building to a large site on the urban fringe - demonstrate how squatters have appropriated space in the city and adapted them to suit their own ideas and needs. The locations were squatted at various moments in time and for different reasons, whether it be to offer housing to refugees, or to start an autonomous space, or to build a place that combined living and workspace. The spatial transformation of these spaces over time has been examined in conjunction with the residents and other stakeholders. The exhibition displays historical material and drawings, as well as a photo essay by Johannes Schwartz on the five locations.