The INDESEM Archive

Bnieuws x INDESEM

Words Inez Margaux Spaargaren

Be inspired by a selection of INDESEM’s early editions! We went for the old editions, because we thought they really deserve some light and attention. Get yourself inspired by these themes, most of them are still accurate and relevant!

INDESEM ’85 was organized by Herman Hertzberger. The right size is what they spoke about. How to design something the right way, and how to interpret it. This quote is definitely still accurate.

”See if you can translate all that (and lots more, if you like trough preferably not less!) into what, with more time than we can offer you, would become a GOOD BUILDING (architecture) – meaning simply: a nice place which HASN’T GOT WHAT IT NEEDN’T HAVE (BUT DOES HAVE WHAT IT NEEDS) AND ALSO BELONGS TO WHERE ITS IT PUT*” INDESEM ’85 – Aldo van Eyck, Dutch architect

In 1991, INDESEM imagined that a modern theatre, luxurious, comfortable, a great number of technical facilities was the ultimate building to explore. Because in an auditorium many different arrangements of the audience can be created. They researched theather space, a framework not only by aims at the possibility to categorize but also as an aid regarding performance-analysis concerning structure and use of theatrical space. A history of theatre and architecture was their main theme.

“To reach the theatre/temple complex, one must climb to the mountain’s summit, through the town in front of the temple gates. The experience of this difficult climb heightens the feeling that one is approaching an unusual place, and enhances one’s sense of pleasure upon arrival.” INDESEM ’91 - Tadao Ando, Founder of Tadao Ando Architects & Associates

In 1996 INDESEM ‘explored the Darklands’ a suggestive poetical term that cannot be found in dictionaries and or encyclopedias, but that they nevertheless explored. This exploration had positive and negative sides. The negative side was that architects designed projects without visiting the site, which they thought was a cardinal mistake. The positive side was that as nobody could visit the site information was the same for all.

As one of the results of the book we had near bankruptcy, but also as one of the results of the rethinking we now have a new office, with a reception and people, workers, in it and also, by coincidence or not, a lot of new work… INDESEM ’96 – Rem Koolhaas, Founder of Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA)

It makes me nervous to follow Ben and especially as I’m a stand in for Zaha. I feel terribly old fashioned. My work is rather conventional. I’m rather interested in stability, old types of space and conventional types of construction.

INDESEM 96’ – David Chipperfield, Founder of David Chipperfield Architects

In 2000 INDESEM explored the theme ‘A critical judgement’, making the profession more critical with regard to relevant evaluation criteria. They used comparative analysis as the critical tool, the teams developed insight and understanding based on analysis as opposed to consensus. The problem to discuss or even solve was: ‘One problem is that nowadays buildings exist primarily as images. The photographers take the pictures and the architects determine which ones are to be circulated and in this way we become surrounded with brilliant images of brilliant ideas. But isn’t this a fantasy world?’

Question from the audience: Should we as students base ourselves on the architecture that still exists? I think the objective is to look at buildings, because they do contain an enormous range of values, from human, very small-scale values up to very large political values. So to look at what is constructed and what you can experience, is very valuable. INDESEM ’00 – Tony Fretton, Founder of Tony Fretton Architects

A political act, the theme of INDESEM in 2005. The tradition of INDESEM is that it addresses themes that are otherwise under-exposed in architectural discourse. But they addressed something different, something recent at that time. Since the rise of Pim Fortyun ( a right-wing, populist politician) and, more recently in 2005 the murder of Theo van Gogh ( a controversial filmmaker), more and more voices claimed ‘integration’ and the ‘multicultural society’ had failed at that time.

“The more common role is the architect as hero. The contemporary concept of the architect as hero largely results from the architectural, celebrity, ranking system operated within the international design press. In this elite hierarchy we see continuous professional and press glorification of media savvy architects such as Frank Gehry, Rem Koolhaas, Daniel Libeskind, etc.” INDESEM ’05 – Esther Charlesworth, Director of Architects without Frontiers

“The best political tendency is wrong if it does not demonstrate the attitude with witch is to be followed. This attitude the architect can only demonstrate in his particular activity: producing architecture. A political tendency is the necessary, never sufficient condition of the organizing function of a work.” INDESEM ’05 – Miguel Robles-Duran, Associate Professor of Urbanism at the Parsons School for Design

The INDESEM.21 publication will be written soon, so prepare for some new inspirational quotes and some brain cracking conclusions of this year’s theme ‘DATASCAPE’.