NetherlandsNOW

Morning 8:30am (EDT) / 2:30pm (CEST)

Moderators

Abby Suckle, FAIA, Co-Chair AIANY Architecture Dialogue Committee, Vice President of the Lower Manhattan Historical Association, President of cultureNOW
Rutger Huiberts, AIA, ARB, Director, KPF, Co-Chair AIANY Architecture Dialogue Committee

Welcome

Barry Nieuwenhuijs, Deputy Consul General at the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in New York

Framing the Future: Dutch Architects in New York

- Francine Houben, Founding Partner, Mecanoo (Delft, The Netherlands)
- Winka Dubbeldam, Founding Partner, Archi-Tectonics (New York, NY)
- Florian Idenburg, Managing Principal, Founding Partner, SO–IL (Brooklyn, NY)
- Rijk Rietveld, Founder, Rietveld Architects (New York, NY)

Design Innovations: A Panorama of Dutch Architecture Today

- Jos van Eldonk, Partner Architect, Common Affairs (Amsterdam) 
- Evert Klinkenberg, Founding Partner, BETA (Amsterdam)
- Jan Knikker, Partner, Director of Strategy, MVRDV (The Randstad)
- Stefan Prins, Partner, Powerhouse Company (Rotterdam)
- Dikkie Scipio, Founding Partner, KAAN Architecten (Rotterdam)
- Erikjan Vermeulen, Head of Architecture, Partner, Concrete Amsterdam (Amsterdam)
- Frans van Vuure, Senior Architect, Managing Director, UNS (Amsterdam)

Panel Discussion, Questions & Closing Remarks

While what we now call New York City was glimpsed by Giovanni da Verrazzano (an Italian) who was sailing the coast of North America on behalf of the King of France in 1524, and explored by Henry Hudson (an Englishman) on behalf of the Dutch East India Company looking for a northwest passage to Asia up the river eventually named for him, it was first settled by the Dutch in 1624 – initially on what we now call Governor’s Island - and later at the tip of what we now call Manhattan. The Dutch village of New Amsterdam was established by the newly created Dutch West India Company as part of the regional colonization – and fur trading center - of New Netherlands. Unlike the nearby religious colony established in 1620 in Massachusetts by the Pilgrims (the Puritans), New Amsterdam brought with it the unique social norms of its European counterpart – Amsterdam itself – with a level of cultural and religious tolerance the was unusual in Europe at the time. And business – what we now call capitalism – was its primary purpose. As such, over its 40-year legacy, New Amsterdam welcomed a hugely diverse group of settlers including those of Dutch, French, German, Jewish, African, and South American descent, to work. It established itself as a center of regional and international economy. It was not a perfect society by any means, with drunkenness and violence part of the day-to-day experiences of its residents, as well as its complex relationships with the indigenous population generally known today as the Lenape, and the slave-trading of the Africans (though some could own land in what is now known as Greenwich Village), but it was distinctly tolerant and highly diverse for any European settlement in North America. Its laws were guided by the 1579 Union of Utrecht’s principles of “freedom of conscience” As Russell Shorto notes in his recent book “Taking Manhattan”, all this might have come to an end with the British taking of New York in 1664. But the then Governor of New Amsterdam, Petrus Stuyvesant, surrendered to the invading English ships – without a shot of cannon fire - both to save the infrastructure of the village, and the social society that its residents – at that point 9,000 people in New Netherlands overall – had shaped and lived by. Renamed New York – after the Duke of York later to become King James II – the entrepreneurial and tolerant spirit of New York was saved - and arguably – the future spirit of America. Religious freedom, individual rights, private entrepreneurism, etc. endured in New York prior to the American Revolution over a century later.

After the British takeover of New York, the cultural and business relationship between the Dutch and New York continued despite England’s attempts to restrict it with its various Navigation Acts. Though much of the Dutch history of the region has been sadly lost or forgotten, place names and words remain: Brooklyn (Breuckelen), Staten Island (Staaten Eiland), Harlem (Haerlem), Catskill, and Kinderhook, along with cookie (koekje), coleslaw (koolsla), waffle (wafel), and Santa Claus (Sinterklass). Fast forward to the 21st century, New York City continues to be recognized as a global center for the exchange of cultures, resources, and ideas. The impact of the artists, architects, and urban designers of today’s Netherlands continue to inspire both New York and the world. The NetherlandsNOW program focuses on the contributions and the synergies between the USA and the Netherlands, and showcases how the exchange of knowledge, innovation, and ideas can help address the challenges our built and natural environment face today. Contemporary Dutch architects are international leaders in designing responses to today’s urban issues of housing, resiliency, mobility, and public space. This program is in two parts: Framing the Future: Dutch Architects in New York, which highlights the work of Dutch architects currently practicing in New York and reflects on their cross-cultural experiences, and Design Innovations: A Panorama of Dutch Architects Today, which showcases the work of established and emerging firms in the Netherlands.