Detroit. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Talks and Q&A | Wednesday April 20 | Starts 20.00h | English | 2,50 Euro

Failed Architecture is a new series of talkshows with presentations by various experts and public discussions that focus on buildings and urban environments that failed to stand the test of time and are currently neglected, abandoned or even vandalized or demolished, because of changing economic, social, political, cultural and/or physical circumstances.

Without a doubt the maxim ‘Failed Architecture’ raises questions. What and according to whom is architecture failed? Which criteria do we use when assessing architecture, e.g. the viewpoint of inhabitants and/or users, architects and/or planners? And how does the ‘Zeitgeist’ or ‘our’ contemporary taste and cultural differences influence our judgment of buildings and cities?

The series started on March 30 with the American writer and urbanist Anthony M. Tung, who showed ‘failed architecture’ by juxtaposing ‘inappropriate’ versus ‘appropriate’ new additions to the urban fabric and by showing ‘unsympathetic new buildings set in historic settings’.

Follow Failed Architecture through Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.


Wibauthuis. Photo by wojofoto

FA #2: Almere, Amsterdam, Detroit, Skopje, Zagreb

During the 2nd edition on Wednesday April 20 we will discuss if, and how, modernist planning principles contradict with the preferences of the people who live or have lived in the concrete results. We invited five guests to give their view based on their knowledge of the following cities and urban areas:

Almere / Bijlmer

Petra Brouwer is assistant professor in modern architectural history, theory and town planning at the University of Amsterdam. She will focus on the ideas behind comprehensive planning concepts in The Netherlands with a focus on the urban Bijlmer(meer) and suburban new town Almere, and how the latter responded to and learned from the former.

Detroit

Christian Ernsten is partner at Partizan Publik, an innovative design and action collective that operates beyond the traditional boundaries of campaigning, cultural analysis, politics, design, publishing and curating. Until 2010 he also worked at Volume magazine. Partizan Publik is co-curating the Detroit Unreal Estate Agency, which is currently setting up a residency there. Christian’s talk focuses on Detroit.

Wibauthuis

Fred Feddes writes about architecture and urban planning and has published widely in a.o. the Groene Amsterdammer, NRC Handelsblad, S&RO, Archis. He is currently working on a book that tells the spatial history of Amsterdam with the working title ‘Alias Amsterdam’. Newspaper Het Parool and ArchiNed published his plea for the preservation of the Wibauthuis, a 1960’s office block that was recently demolished.

Sofia

Ljubo Georgiev is an architect from Sofia, Bulgaria. In 2010 he co-founded de+ge architects, a Rotterdam based office for socially responsible and modern architecture. After studying in Edinburgh, Venice and Delft he worked for ZUS, Claus en Kaan and MVRDV. He is involved in the Sofia Architecture Week. He will talk about the Macedonian capital Skopje.