Media Alert: Future Cape Town visits the Netherlands
From the 15th to the 20th of September, Future Cape Town will be visiting a number of leaders and organisations in the urbanism and design sector in the Netherlands as a guest of the Het Nieuwe Instituut. Director of Our Future Cities, Rashiq Fataar will gain a global perspective on projects and ideas relevant to design, sustainability, and creating more liveable cities and communities in the Netherlands, with the aim of building partnerships
The 6 day schedule, based in Rotterdam will also include visits to Amsterdam and Den Haag . During this time, Future Cape Town will meet with organisations including:OMA/AMO, Creative Industries Fund, RebelGroup, ArchiAfrika, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment, the Berlage Institute, ZUS, Shift Architecture, the International New Town Institute, Crimson Architectural Historians, KCAP Architects&Planners, and MVRDV.
Other activities will include:
- Participation in a tour of the archives at Het Nieuwe Instituut, and visit key projects transforming cities in the Netherlands
- Speak with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment about the project NL2028– a spatial analysis of the Netherlands in relation to the country’s possible Olympic bid
- Visit an example site of how previously underutilized areas can be turned into “urban laboratories” in order to increase citizen engagement
- Meet with a number of leading Dutch architects, urbanists and designers
The tour concludes by visiting the opening exhibition of “Structuralism”, which explores how concepts of open space, poetry, and emotion can be utilised in architecture for a more humanistic vision of design.
In building anticipation for these events, one may wonder what main ideas Future Cape Town aims to take back to South Africa once the visit concludes. As Director Fataar reflects, “urban development is a collaborative process amongst all relevant stakeholders, be it citizen, government or the private sector. Each has an important role to play in terms of figuring out what is the best plan of action. Looking at systems that work and then appropriately adapting them for relevance to any unique situation. Our tour to the Netherlands is a natural extension of our work on the successful Department of Design project, one of the highlights of World Design Capital, Cape Town 2014.”
“Certainly collaboration is good for the development of any city, regardless of whether the city is relatively developed or is still in the process of transformation. Having an opportunity to foster relationships with best-practice organisations in the fields of architecture, design, and sustainability provides Our Future Cities a unique window into urban development. We at Future Cape Town are excited to continue to expand upon our global relationships and to act as a facilitator for dialogues surrounding urbanism.” adds Fataar.
Notes to editors:
- Het Nieuwe Instituut aims to illuminate and map a rapidly changing world while at the same time fostering discussion of topics related to the vast field of design. All the institute’s activities are grounded in the principles of design and innovation – two concepts bound up with changing value systems and conflict. Read more here
- Our Future Cities NPO works to build a democracy around the future of cities, with Future Cap Town as the founding base of the movement. Read more about us here and who we work with here
- Department of Design was a three week-long event that supported sustainability and collaboration. It was the initiative of the Government of the Netherlands as part of their contribution to World Design Capital Cape Town 2014. Read more here