Blue Daisy
This weekend the stage of the OT301 was filled with musical instruments, MPC’s, midi-controllers, turntables and their operators. The two nights starred the innovative music producers of the future.
Featuring: Kuedo dj-set (soundcloud), S. Maharba live (bandcamp), Blue Daisy live (soundcloud), Tropics live (soundcloud), Free the Robots live, Juha dj-set (soundcloud), Solar Bears live (soundcloud) and Zelyan live.
On the occasion of the national Day of Architecture on 30 September 2011 the Danish Network for Young Planners (Netværk for yngre planlæggere) invites Failed Architecture to Copenhagen. Started by Non-fiction in 2010 as a blog it has evolved into a series of debates at De Verdieping in Amsterdam and other cities. In Copenhagen we will discuss criteria (‘benchmarks’) for quality and failure in modernist housing estates in an international East/West perspective. — Read more ›
(Zwarte Madonna. Photo taken from Presseurop)
After the first edition with the American writer and urbanist Anthony M. Tung and the second edition with a panel of five speakers, who provided an international overview of cases of ‘failed architecture’, we are happy to have the following speakers as our guests during the upcoming (third) edition on Wednesday June 15th.
Arnold Reijndorp is an independent researcher at the cutting edge of urbanism/architecture and social and cultural developments in the urban field. He holds the Han Lammers Chair of Social-economic developments of new urban areas at the University of Amsterdam, and is associated with the International New Town Institute. With Maarten Hajer he published In Search of New Public Domain. Recent co-authored publications in Dutch are: Atlas of the Western Garden Cities of Amsterdam and Themed Communities: Living in a imaginated place. In his talk he will focus on the thin line between utopia and dystopia in new towns and themed communities.
Paul Groenendijk has been active as a writer specialized in (Dutch) architecture since 1984. He will talk about his encounters with a wide variety of ‘failed architecture’, focusing on his most recent book that describes the rise and fall of the Zwarte Madonna, or Black Madonna, arguably the most notorious social housing apartment block in the Netherlands. It was demolished in 2007 after years of fierce debate. The only people who protested against its demolition were a few of its inhabitants. At that point even the architect didn’t care anymore, saying: “I am glad it’s gone”.
Maja Popovic is an architect from Belgrade with an articulated interest in preservation of 20th century built heritage and the relationship between architecture, memory and storytelling. In her talk she will focus on Staro Sajmište. This was the site of Belgrade’s international fair before WWII. During the war, it was turned into a concetration camp by Germans. Today it’s mostly in ruins. The vast complex of buildings and smaller pavilions was supposed to kickstart the large scale development of New Belgrade in 1937, but during communist times the plans radically changed and Staro Sajmište became isolated and neglected. Although doomed to be forgotten it found a way to survive as a refuge for artists and outcasts. But how can you engage the public at large with this historically significant place, and how can it be rescued for generations to come?
The night is hosted by Michiel van Iersel with Tim Verlaan and Mark Minkjan.
Staro Sajmište during WWII (photo taken from Oldtajmeri)
________________________________________________________
Failed Architecture is a series of talkshows with presentations by various experts and public discussions that focus on buildings and urban environments that failed to stand the test of time and are neglected, abandoned or even vandalized or demolished, because of changing economic, social, political, cultural and/or physical circumstances.
Without a doubt the maxim ‘Failed Architecture’ raises questions. What and according to whom is architecture failed? Which criteria do we use when assessing architecture, e.g. the viewpoint of inhabitants and/or users, architects and/or planners? And how does the ‘Zeitgeist’ or ‘our’ contemporary taste and cultural differences influence our judgment of buildings and cities?
Follow Failed Architecture on Facebook and Twitter
Next Failed Architecture?
Failed Architecture will return after the summer. Check our website for updates.
—
De Verdieping is the cultural fringe programme and project space of TrouwAmsterdam and is kindly supported by the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts (AFK) and the Netherlands Architecture Fund (SfA).
Non-fiction’s Michiel van Iersel will be co-hosting a public debate during the Skopje Architecture Week on Friday June 3 in the Macedonian capital. Earlier this year Non-fiction initiated Failed Architecture, a blog and series of public debates at De Verdieping in Amsterdam that focus on buildings and urban environments that have failed to stand the test of time and are currently neglected, abandoned or even vandalized or demolished, because of changing economic, social, political and/or physical circumstances. Through our efforts we hope to save some of these ruins from oblivion.
We got in touch with the Skopje Architecture Week through Ljubo Georgiev, architect and speaker at the last Failed Architecture event in Amsterdam. In his role as curator of the next Sofia Architecture Week in Bulgaria in November 2011, Ljubo was invited by the organization in Skopje to contribute to this annual event. Given the current debate on the legacy and future of Modernist architecture in the Macedonian capital, he proposed to organize a Failed Architecture event with the aim to re-energize the local discussion and introduce new and effective perspectives on how to deal with building that have become a burden.
The debate is called “Creativity against destruction: How creative entrepreneurs can save our buildings” and will focus on the potential of temporary and creative use of (vacant) buildings for sustainable urban and cultural development. We would like to reflect on possible strategies and practical tools that help ‘creative entrepreneurs’ to establish culturally and economically viable cultural venues that become a force to be reckoned with by local politicians, real estate developers and the public at large.
In short: how can creative individuals and initiatives become sustainable urban players and how can underutilized and undervalued spaces be re-activated through artistic and creative means? And on a more fundamental level: how can we, creative producers and mediators, re-imagine and re-appropriate our built environment and how can we prevent certain types of buildings from being neglected, abandoned or even demolished?
The meeting consists of juxtaposing opinions of 3 speakers on the question ‘How/Can creative entrepreneurs save and re-activate our built environment?’
The speakers will give short presentations, which will then be followed by a public debate. The list of speakers is not confirmed yet, but will consist of various local and international experts and Failed Architecture’s co-founder Michiel van Iersel. The discussion will be led by Ljubo Georgiev (partner at de+ge architects in Rotterdam, the Netherlands).
For more information and tickets visit the Skopje Architecture Week website.
-
About Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. The city developed rapidly after World War II, but this trend was interrupted in 1963 when it was hit by a disastrous earthquake. In 1991 it became the capital centre of independent Macedonia. A major international relief effort saw the city rebuilt quickly, though much of its old neo-classical charm was lost in the process.
The new master plan of the city was created by the then leading Japanese architect Kenzo Tange. International financial aid poured into Skopje in order to help rebuild the city. As a result came the many modern (at the time) brutalist structures of the 1960s, that can still be seen today, such as the central post office building and the National Bank.
(Source: Wikipedia)
On Saturday 19 March Viral Radio celebrates its 4 year anniversary at Amsterdam’s legendary underground music venue OT301. On the line up a special selection of first time performers Om Unit and Illum Sphere, who will make their debut in the Netherlands, and all time favourite artists Raphael Vanoli (Knalpot), Datcho (Viral Radio), Cinnaman (Viral Radio) and Non-fiction’s Juha.
In the 4 years since Viral Radio began, it has grown into one of the Netherlands’ most recognized vehicles for innovative electronic music. It has presented a generation of experimental bass and rhythm music at festivals as North Sea Jazz, Exit Festival and Appelsap, and it has connected musicians and audiences of different generations at renowned institutions as Bimhuis, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ and the TrouwAmsterdam.
This event starts at 9 pm with champagne, cake, and a world premiere: a solo performance of electroacoustic improviser Raphael Vanoli of Knalpot. Tickets are 5 euros before 10, and 7.50 afterwards. Join us on Facebook and Last.fm, but more importantly, at OT301 on 19 March. We look forward to celebrating with you.
Mark Pritchard, aka Harmonic 313
According to Time Out Amsterdam, Viral Radio is ‘the most cutting-edge event in Amsterdam, hands down.’ The electronic music vehicle of Non-fiction’s Juha van ‘t Zelfde, in close harmony with DJ/producer/Beat Dimensions architect Cinnaman (Yuri Boselie), has been gathering momentum in 2009. The nights have featured lords of the underground Kode9 & the Spaceape, Flying Lotus and Joker, and many more in their slipstream.
The coming month, the carrier of freight train bass weight will present another stellar compendium of contemporary studio explorations:
02 October >> Harmonic 313 and Juha & Cinnaman
21 October >> Knalpot, Gaslamp Killer, Clark, Bibio, Martyn, Aardvarck, Pete Concrete and Juha & Cinnaman
06 November >> Hudson Mohawke, Lorn, Ras G and Juha & Cinnaman
We would like to thank the artists for their participation, TrouwAmsterdam for the inspiring collaboration, and you – the visitor and listener – for your support. We hope to see you tonight.
—
Update: a new episode of Viral Radio on VPRO 3voor12 will be recorded today, with special guest Harmonic 313.
The August edition of CDR was picked up by Time Out Amsterdam
Create, bounce, and burn. This is the vernacular of a new generation of beat makers around the world. They use software with swanky names as Logic, Reason or Live to contribute to the ever growing architecture of rhythmculture. Forming scenes in Glasgow, Los Angeles, London, Amsterdam, and in many other outskirts, they are the dark metabolism of nightlife and music culture of today. With social networks reaching semantic cruising altitudes, the exchange rate of music is getting more spectacular by the day. Virally communicating and freely sharing through Soundcloud, Facebook, Twitter, iChat and (even) MySpace, a faceless herd of avatars and monikers roam the digital present in search of a beat.
With CDR, Viral Radio and Beat Dimensions have joined London’s Burntprogress in creating a common ground for these producers to present their music. CDR, which takes place in De Verdieping in the ‘Berlinesque’ Wibaustraat in Amsterdam, acts as a hub and social hive for musicians, music professionals and the general public to exchange new beats. The process is basic: people bring their music on a CDR, hand it in to the DJs of the night, who will play them over the weighty club soundsystem. Each artist name and track title will be projected on the wall. The night will be opened by interviews with the visiting artists from the following Viral Radio night upstairs at TrouwAmsterdam. Entrance for musicians with a CDR is free; 5 euros is charged for other visitors. As a bonus everyone can stay for Viral Radio later on.
The third edition of CDR is about to start tonight at 8.30 PM at De Verdieping. We look forward to seeing you there.
To celebrate 1 year of Beat Dimensions concerts at the Bimhuis, we have invited three of our favourite musicians to perform live in Amsterdam. Kode9 & the Spaceape will demonstrate their Bass Fiction live set, a rhythmically desolate and sonically dense architecture of sub frequencies, whilst Dimlite will display yet again why he is a master of mosaic textures and imaginative drum patterns. Digikid Cinnaman and laureate Juha will play music from a not so distant future in the bar before, between and after the concerts.
Doors open around 11, and the concerts start at 11.30. We look forward to seeing you there.
One half of the Non-fiction office has a habit of maniacally searching for new music and sharing this with any stranger that comes in sight. This has resulted in a series-that-is-not-a-series of experimental electronic music at the Bimhuis, and a monthly experimental club night at Trouw Amsterdam.
In the past two years, Juha had a monthly radio show on dubstep and bass-laden dance music at NPS Lijn5.com, together with Amsterdam’s beat-boy-wonder Cinnaman. Since the transfer of Lijn5 to FunX, Viral Radio was in talks with an alternative network to continue the show. It gives me great pleasure to announce that this collaboration has finally materialised. The first show of Viral Radio at its new home 3voor12 has been recorded. Have a listen, and subscribe to the podcast.
Although it has always been our intention to slowly and gradually open De Verdieping for the public, fate has begged us to differ. Tonight’s Viral Radio event has been ordered downstairs due to unforseen leaks in the walls upstairs.
This means that we would like to invite you to our opening night with Kode9 and the Spaceape tonight at 10 PM at De Verdieping at Wibautstraat 131 in Amsterdam. Doors open at 10 PM, and we advise you to come early, before midnight. We expect a full house since carriers of the Hyperdub virus are in great demand.
We look forward to welcoming you into our new site.