IABR 2016

Maarten Hajer was asked to be Chief Curator of the 2016 International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR). Its theme? The ‘Next Economy’.

“In half a century, twice as many people will live in cities as do now. The city will then truly be the motor of the global economy. What does this urban Next Economy have in store for us?
No one can predict what the future will hold, but one thing is certain: more of the same is no longer a viable option. Climate change, global urbanization, emerging new technologies, increasing migration, and growing inequality urgently demand real solutions. We have to rethink the way in which we live, work, and learn, and where and how we consume and produce. We will have to redesign the balance between system and individual, between rich and poor, between young and old, between sustainability and growth.”

Agree to all - The cities they sell us

The idea of the IABR is to use ‘research-by-design’ techniques to probe alternatives for how to design and govern our cities. In 2016 we imagined the city of the future in three takes: the healthy and socially inclusive city, the productive city, and the sustainable green city. Following Maarten’s earlier work on the public domain, the underlying theme was that key to the successful city is that public space would, once again, be the central concern in planning decisions.

Go to the IABR website to find out more, or read the piece Maarten wrote on ‘research by design' in the journal Public Culture.