Bøger af Henk Ovink

In 2012 seven major Dutch urban development projects are being brought together under one roof at the 5th International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam. Design research is being carried out on seven issues and areas, in order to deepen and sharpen the approaches to these challenges at the heart of the political arena. The projects vary from the already existing Zuidas, research into 100,000 jobs for Almere and the Rhine-Meuse Delta to the 2028 Olympics. This book not only documents the results, it also traces how the subject is linked to social and political agendas. The Netherlands in Projects is the seventh installment in the series Design and Politics, an initiative of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment on the relationship between planning, design and politics.

In establishing a professorship in Design & Politics at Delft University of Technology, the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment has launched a program of education, research and practice for the spatial design of the Netherlands, aimed at reinforcing the interaction between design and politics. The purpose of this book is to offer inspiration and an organizing framework for that program, based on history, reflection, policy and, just as importantly, ambition. The book traces the history of the Netherlands' thinkers, makers and builders. It provides an understanding of how the roles and relationships in Dutch spatial planning have been transformed, and of the ideals, systems and processes that have been strengthened through confrontation. And it reflects on the situation today. Through excerpts from conversations with designers, officials, decision-makers, researchers and other experts, the editors seek to demonstrate the array of narratives in the Netherlands and abroad. Challenges in Dutch politics and design, whether minor or major, reflect these narratives and the confrontation between them. Such confrontation is essential, not just to foster thoughtful deliberation but also to uncover alternatives, eventualities and potentials.