Rotterdam for RealRotterdam for Real

In 2019, Het Nieuwe Instituut joined in the worldwide celebration of the Bauhaus centenary. However, rather than glorifying the legendary school's past achievements, its Neuhaus project breathed new life into the original ideas of the Bauhaus, inspired by current events.

Neuhaus responded to the present era's planetary burn-out with a versatile and dynamic curriculum. For centuries, the idea of progress revolved around the needs and interests of certain people and their bodies, meaning the realities of virtually all other bodies, species, creatures, and ecosystems were left out of consideration. Today's ecological and socio-political crises are a direct consequence of this mentality and its exclusionary mechanisms. In order to emerge from these crises, it is at the very least necessary for people to learn to cooperate and live with non-human entities, requiring empathy-based designs for the 'other' and the non-human.

The curriculum was developed in collaboration with academies, designers, artists, theatre makers, researchers, and activists, and - partly due to the involvement of a large number of Rotterdam-based designers - contributed to a reflection on the city.

Find out more about the curriculum here.

Neuhaus' opening symposium on 18 May 2019 brought together national and international artists, designers, theorists, creators, and more-than-human bodies to jointly sketch the challenges of our time, present the central Neuhaus themes, and introduce its curriculum. Participants included Rotterdam-based artists Gerjan Piksen (composer and theatre-maker), Raoul de Jong (writer), Elfie Tromp (writer and performer), The Empress (Krump dancer), and Michele van Vliet (photographer).

The fantasy training course Neuhaus Affenkäfig asked participants 'die Welt neu zu denken' (to rethink the world) over three meetings. It was developed by Rotterdam-based artist collective Mona Lisa's in close collaboration with, among others, Elma Dekker (mezzo-soprano), Maki Oishi (architect), Louis van der Waal (actor and singer), and emeritus professor Cees Zwart.

In cooperation with the professional field and the public, Neuhaus programming took place almost every day. A Call for Auditions sought ways of learning with all the senses, and connections with Rotterdam proved an advantage, leading to the following public 'lessons' in, for, and through Rotterdam and its citizens:

PolakVanBekkum

ARGUS

ARGUS - the study association of the master's architecture programme at TU Delft - presented Night of Philosophy, an annual event on philosophical themes linked to current architectural discourse. Designers, creators, and thinkers from within and outside the field exchanged ideas about the post-Anthropocene era. Walking was used as a means to reflect and to exchange thoughts, stories, and poems, and to utilise the senses. The Neuhaus walk took the public past metropolitan ecosystems in Rotterdam's urban landscape and focused attention on food production in the city.

Carolin Lange and Dico Kruijsse

Studio visits in the form of tours through Spoortuin and Essenburgpark were led by De Urbanisten and DaF architects, who specialise in ecology and ecosystems.

Rianne Makkink

Water Matter explored the power and knowledge contained in water through various workshops on dowsing, water reading, and a water Tupperware party. Based on the WaterSchool project - a speculative school organised around water as an essential material, but also as a social and political phenomenon that proposes a reconsideration of the existing economic and infrastructural model of education.

Organised with NAi Booksellers, this double launch initiated cross-pollination between two newly published books for nature-inclusive urban design - First Guide to Nature-inclusive Design by Maike van Stiphout and Making Urban Nature by Piet Vollaard. Gerjan Streng (BRIGHT) gave a reflection, moderated by Marieke Berkers.

Artist Annika Kappner explored the rich biodiversity of The New Garden in Rotterdam with the Aquarius Gardens sound walk, inviting visitors to use all their senses to experience the hybrid and sometimes paradoxical elements that make up the environment. Kappner combined information about the beneficial effects of plants with the existing urban and social soundscape of Rotterdam city centre.

The Zoöp Research Facility was a practical public study into alternative forms of living together, working together, and generating ecological capital. The zoöp contributes to strengthening the social, legal, and economic position of non-humans in society, enabling a model of reciprocal ecological-economic growth that could withstand the exhausting dynamics of capitalism. During Neuhaus, research was undertaken in the ponds around Het Nieuwe Instituut and The New Garden, which was then used to set up a pilot zoöp at Abcoude Fort.

Neulab was an educational making space where Neuhäusler of all ages could make, work, and research with more-than-human knowledge. Young Rotterdam artists and designers (including Arthur Boer, Boris Smeenk, Rnul Interactive, and World Wider Lab) conducted research at Neulab and developed projects around more-than-human knowledge. Neulab was realised in collaboration with the Willem de Kooning Academy.