The 11th edition of the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR) with the title Nature of Hope will take place from 29 June to 13 October 2024 and will include an exhibition at the Nieuwe Instituut, a public program and Botanical Monuments, green places in Rotterdam. The theme of this edition, Nature of Hope, focuses on how architecture can restore ecological balance by taking biodiversity and nature as a starting point.
In addition to the exhibition at the Nieuwe Instituut, it includes an extensive Public Program and a green network through Rotterdam to visit its so-called Botanical Monuments. Through a series of events, lectures, workshops, excursions and other activities, Nature of Hope’s Public Program of connects to various forms of existing knowledge and the practices that are transforming the very nature of the design disciplines. Some of these will take place in the Practice Place, where we invite the architectural community in the broadest sense to come together around transforming practice. Keep an eye on the agenda for the full program.
Nature of Hope will focus on a combination of hope and nature. This choice stems from the recognition that everything begins with the Earth and that our exploitation – or rather, depletion – of the Earth, each other, and the living world is leading to multiple ecological and social crises. As humans, we can no longer place ourselves above or at a distance from nature and nor do we wish to. How can we put the knowledge and practices of spatial design at the service of the planet and all the creatures that live on it?
Curator Team
This year’s biennale edition, themed Nature of Hope, is put forward by IABR Director Saskia van Stein and curated by the IABR 2024: Nature of Hope Curator Team. The team consists of architect and researcher Janna Bystrykh, architect-researcher and philosopher Catherine Koekoek, researcher and writer Hani Salih, spatial designer and researcher Alina Paias, and designer and writer Noortje Weenink. The curator team, whose members come from different backgrounds but share a common basis in spatial design, manifests the change that is already underway.
