Day 14+15 [Day 4/5 in
Rotterdam]
Tuesday/Wednesday June 12-13
Wow. Just when I thought nothing could get crazier
in this city…
Let me back up. Tuesday morning while I was eating breakfast
at the hostel I noticed this man walk in, and just by the way he was dressed
and the way he walked I had a suspicion that he was an architect. I caught his eye but said nothing and went on
my way. I started by heading to the
Museumkwartier, specifically to visit the interior of the Nai (the Netherlands
Architecture Institute). Across the
street is the modern Sonneveld house designed by Brinkman and Van der Vlugt for
an employee of the Van Nelle factory.
Later I went inside; it was essentially the opposite of the size
impression I had with the Rietveld-Schroderhuis - this house was much larger on
the interior than it appeared. Very
interesting.
But before all that I
was taking pictures of the exterior of the NAi, designed by Jo Coenen. As I was wandering around the exterior, who
do I spot but none other than the man from the hostel, who was also talking pictures. A little ways away I spotted a group of
students, and I wondered...and then asked them...and sure enough, they were
architecture students from Germany (Nürnberg) in Rotterdam for two nights as a
field trip for their master-planning studio (this was their last night). Once inside, when I went to go get my ticket
I approached the man and introduced myself, explaining that I had spoken to
some of his students outside. He was
very nice, had originally studied in Germany before getting a post-graduate
degree from both SCI-arc in California and also Columbia in New York. We have a lot of mutual
friends/acquaintances. He informed me
about the lecture that was happening that night and I was lucky because I
wouldn't have known about it otherwise.
I joined his group of students at a café for lunch which was very
good. I liked talking to the German
students (who are midway through their semester right now), because it brought
to light the differences in pedagogical methods and learning in different
countries. For example, in Germany it is
very formal, such that the students address their teacher by Herr Lastname, and
the professor addresses the students formally as well. In America, we're on a first-name basis, and
that's just the way it is. It doesn't
have anything to do with lack of respect though.
After lunch I returned
to the NAi on my own, exploring the expansive library and archives which seem
to go on forever. I even got my own
temporary library card for research, and I will have to return tomorrow, because
they have some books that are out of print and I need them for my
research. Earlier I had gone through all
of the exhibits in the museum. The
current one was really compelling, called "Making City," and was a
series of projects and research about developing cities and planning, with many
Dutch examples and others from different countries as well. The treasury in the basement was also really
interesting, with several original models, sketches, and drawings from various
Dutch architects from all time periods.
All of the parts of the museum were designed really well to hold the
exhibits and catalogues. They also had
an exhibit of the potential future of Dutch architecture, some of which was
silly and futuristic to a dumb level, but the intention of looking ahead was
there.
I went back to the
hostel to wash up and get some food before the lecture/talk/debate at 8pm. I returned for the hob-nobbing beforehand and
then got to sit in some really excellent seats right in the front with the Germans. So many architects in the room. The panel was quite interesting (and included
big names such as Kees Christiaanse), and the talk was very compelling, with a
unique insight into the Dutch mentality of planning. One of the four panel members, Henk Ovink,
had a lot of really spot-on comments, and I looked him up to realize that he
was head of general spatial planning for the ministry of infrastructure and
environment, so he works for and with the government in a seamless distinction
between architect/planner and the government, which is somewhat of a novel
concept. What caught my attention was
that he was also head of the Olympic planning committee for NL 2028. Actually, the German professor brought that
to my attention and said I should try to talk to him about my thesis. I didn't think I would be able to, but after
the talk I actually gathered the courage to approach him. He seemed genuinely interested in my project
and asked if it was public domain. I
said not quite but I'd be happy to show him some samples. I saw that there was going to be another talk
on Monday night and this was specifically about the planning for the Olympics. He told me I should come and we could talk
more then. I'm pretty excited; I'll have
to take a train from Den Haag but it only takes about 20 minutes.
Something that I
realized by being in such a creative environment and platform for ideas is that
I come specifically with a certain set of knowledge that may not be unique
where I came from, but to take it to different places brings some radically new
opportunities and interesting discussions.
This is one of those times where I have to take advantage of that and
not to downplay it, because these are some sophisticated ideas that can
transform into something more.
After the open bar
closed at the NAi, the Germans invited me out to a couple of pubs. The language thing was so weird, since I once
spoke a bit of German, some words made sense but not a lot. It was a really fun time, and I was glad to
have met them because I haven't been able to enjoy the nightlife of NL because
I'm not going to just go out on my own.
We stayed out very late, so I will likely sleep well tonight.
I tried to take it
easy today, but I did visit two important museums. One was the Kunsthal designed by
OMA/Koolhaas. It's one of the greatest
buildings I've visited; elegant and effective, with incredible spatial
manipulation. The exhibits were
interesting too, including rarely shown photographs of the painter George
Hendrik Breitner, and a contemporary installation called "My Secret
Garden." Very cool.
After that I stopped
into the nearby Boijmans Van Beuningen, an extensive (I mean very extensive)
collection of art donated by two famous collectors. It has everything from Dutch Golden Age
paintings, Rembrants, Van Goghs, to Monet and Cézanne, to Kandinsky and de
Chirico and Man Ray and Degas and Mondrian, and so on. I had no idea it was so big, so it ended up
taking a longer time than I thought, but I was so glad that I visited.
I napped and relaxed
the rest of the afternoon, tried to allow my mind to process all that had
recently happened. It's ironic, but
tonight's football game is Holland vs. Germany.
I can hear the collective cheers and groans from the crowd below. Germany won.
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