Jaap Bakema Study Centre
The Open Society
Jaap Bakema (1914-1981), after whom the centre is named, was a leading architect of the post-war modern period, both within the avant-garde CIAM and with its successor, Team 10. He strived to build for an open society: democratic, egalitarian, and accessible to everyone. He felt that architecture should contribute to the emancipation of the masses, whilst also leaving room for the development of the individual citizen.
Bakema’s idea of ‘building for an open society’ involves several relevant issues: the role of the government in relation to spatial planning, the relationship between architectural design and user, and the space for a collective and individual identity in the context of a democratized mass society. Although the societal background against which this idea was conceived – the post-war reconstruction period and welfare state – is nowadays radically different, the topics addressed by Bakema have remained relevant: themes like inclusivity and social justice are still important topics in discussions about architecture and the city.
Past events
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21 November 2019
Open Architecture as Radical Democracy: Gentle Urban Renewal of Berlin-Kreuzberg
Esra Akcan is the keynote speaker for the Jaap Bakema Study Centre conference 2019 _Architecture and Democracy 1965-1989...
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20 November 2019 - 21 November 2019
Architecture and Democracy 1965-1989: Urban Renewal, Populism and the Welfare State
This year's international conference of the Jaap Bakema Study Centre focuses on the years 1965 to 1989, in which welfare...
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18 March 2018
Jaap Bakema and the Open Society
On March 18, the Jaap Bakema Study Centre and Archis/Volume will host the presentation of the book _Jaap Bakema and the ...
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16 June 2017
A Right to the City, a Right to Housing
On June 16 2017 the Jaap Bakema Study Centre convened a symposium on the pressing issue of affordable housing, its archi...
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9 June 2015
Open Societies, Common Spaces
On 9 June Professor M. Christine Boyer (Princeton University, USA) delivered a lecture on the open society and the relat...
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25 November 2014
Bakema and the Open Society
The Jaap Bakema Study Centre organised a special conference on the work of Jaap Bakema (1914-1981) and his idea to build...
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5 December 2018
PhD Programme Architecture and Democracy
Together with the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology, the Jaap Bakema Stu...
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21 February 2018
Jaap Bakema and the Open Society
Jaap Bakema and the Open Society is the first extensive publication on the Dutch architect Jaap Bakema, his ideas and id...
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31 May 2014
Open: A Bakema Celebration
As part of the Dutch contribution to the 14th edition of the Venice Biennale a special publication was made. It served a...
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