2009 - 4th edition
Open City
Designing Coexistence
The theme of the 4th edition of the Architecture Biennale Rotterdam was Open City. An open city is a diverse and vibrant city where people can productively interact culturally, socially, and economically. The key question was what concrete contributions architects and urban designers can make to the sustainable, social caliber of the urban environment.
The main exhibition ‘Open City: Designing Coexistence’ consisted of several chapters displayed throughout the building of the Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAi). The exhibition explored how architects and urban designers can address challenges such as migration, diversity, and social and cultural differences in the context of their design briefs.
In line with the theme of the 4th IABR, the City of Amsterdam organized an extensive program around the theme Vrijstaat Amsterdam (Free State of Amsterdam). In collaboration with the IABR, broadcaster VPRO presented the cross-media project Century of the City.
Curators
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Photo: Michelle Wilderom Kees Christiaanse
Architect and urban planner. He is the founding partner of KCAP (Kees Christiaanse Architects & Planners), an international design firm, for architecture, landscape design and urban planning with offices in Rotterdam, Zurich and Shanghai. Christiaanse is also Professor Emeritus of Architecture & Urbanism in the Institute for Urban Design at the ETH Zurich, Switzerland.
