Rotterdam Architectuur Cultuur
What led to the creation of the Rotterdam Architecture Culture collaboration?
Rotterdam Architecture Culture (RAC) is an initiative by architectural institutions in Rotterdam to strengthen mutual collaboration and communication. At the strategic level, the various institutions are committed to fostering dialogue about the city and its spatial quality. They also aim to engage a broad audience in the development and experience of the city. In addition, RAC is dedicated to talent development, and the partnership contributes to a multifaceted, vibrant, and diverse cultural landscape.
What do we hope to achieve with Rotterdam Architecture Culture?
Rotterdam is internationally renowned as a city of architecture. Yet architecture receives relatively limited attention within municipal cultural policy and available funding. RAC therefore works collectively to strengthen the position of architectural culture in Rotterdam and to highlight its importance to the municipality and other relevant stakeholders.
The participating organisations meet every quarter. During these meetings, we discuss developments within Rotterdam's architectural culture and what is needed to strengthen it further. We look beyond our individual organisations. Where can our activities reinforce one another? Where do agendas and events overlap? And where are there gaps in the cultural ecosystem?
By discussing these issues collectively, we aim to achieve more together than each organisation could individually. Where necessary, we join forces in our dialogue with the municipality and other stakeholders. For example, RAC has collectively raised the importance of architecture and architectural culture in the city with Rotterdam's aldermen.
Who are the stakeholders of Rotterdam Architecture Culture?
Since 2023, Rotterdam’s architectural institutions have been collaborating to develop a vision for the role of architecture within the Culture Policy Statement.
IABR is an active partner and a member of the Rotterdam Architecture and Culture Forum (RAC). Currently, the RAC consists of AFFR, AIR, The Independent School for the City, Nieuwe Instituut, OMI, Rotterdam Roof Days, and IABR.
According to the RAC, a diverse landscape of organizations provides the best foundation for Rotterdam as a city of architecture. The organizations collaborate and each reflects on the built environment from their own perspective. The RAC advocates for the preservation and expansion of this diversity of voices and distinctiveness within the city’s cultural architectural landscape.
Within this dynamic, the various participants complement and support one another. In this way, we work together to foster a strong Rotterdam architectural culture that aligns with the city’s ambitions.
More background information on Rotterdam Architecture Culture
How we shape our living environment concerns all Rotterdammers. Architecture revolves around shaping and interpreting the physical city and the way in which the city serves its residents and visitors. This ranges from individual buildings to the urban landscape as a whole.
As cultural institutions focused on architecture that collectively represent Rotterdam’s architectural culture, we recognize the major challenges facing the city. At the same time, we see ample opportunities for cultural policy to contribute to the urban development that Rotterdam will need in the coming years.