Stimuleringsfonds

In the third Architecture round of 2023, 26 applications have been selected. Ibrahim Alaoui Chrifi, Architecture Grant Scheme coordinator, reflects on the round.

9 November 2023

general impression

This round consisted largely of applications that approach housing issues from different perspectives. For instance, they look at alternative forms of housing such as the project on co-housing by design agency Shift architecture urbanism and the matching of care with housing in the Wolfheze’s Alternative project by bureau Ira Koers. Several projects look at the relationship between housing and climate issues through research into bio-based residential building, such as the project Kumiki biobased modelwoning by Architectenbureau Kumiki. Furthermore, typology crops up more frequently within this round’s applications with studies that take a critical approach to high-rise buildings in the current zeitgeist, as seen in the project Core Issues by design firm -C-A-S-.

Current issues are not only being investigated from the perspective of the housing question. The role of nature and its relationship to the planned environment, and how that changes over time, is being examined in a number of projects this round. For example, the project Humanity on the move by Bureauufo looks at the impact of climate change and also considers the changing role of water in relation to landscapes. By thinking differently about the role of nature, the use of resources and historical practices, applicants aim to draw lessons from underexposed knowledge.

diversity and inclusion

The contribution to diversity and inclusion within the field is one of the criteria on which applications are assessed. This round looks at experiences of queer people, among others, in nightlife, the influence of feminism on public housing and housing construction from the 1960s onwards. The Harriët Freezer Street project by Charlie Koolhaas is a case in point. In addition, there is a focus on the role of non-human life and the voice of nature within architecture in the project New Horizon Initiative by Dirk-Jan Visser and Rechten voor Nationaal Park Eiland van Brienenoord by Stichting Grondvesten.

selection

The available budget was not sufficient to award a grant to all 28 positively assessed applications. As a result, the advisory committee had to prioritize. The procedure used is described in the Architecture Grant Scheme. After prioritization, 2 positively assessed projects were eliminated from the selection.

A few notable projects from this round’s selection are:

Wolfheze’s Alternatief – bureau Ira Koers
Psychiatric hospital sites are silently disappearing due to shrinkage policies and deconcentration of mental healthcare. Without any fundamental debate on reform, reuse and alternative lifestyles. To initiate this debate, bureau Ira Koers is developing a shadow plan for the hospital site in Wolfheze that is exemplary for the current policy. Together with the Arcadian and low-stimulus landscape, the social and spatial heritage and the close-knit community of the care village, an alternative is being sought that is agenda-setting for the living environment for mental healthcare as a whole.

Stadsflora, design research into future-proof planting in the city – FLUX landscape architecture
Climate change is making the city warmer and wetter. At the same time, biodiversity is declining. FLUX landscape architecture sees the need for a radically different way of designing with planting in the city, with planting plans that reflect the changing conditions better and are therefore future-proof. Work is being carried out on an analysis of changing conditions and model projects, on a vision for a future-proof city including associated design principles, and on four cases in which a tangible spatial elaboration is done in collaboration with Dutch cities. The cases complement each other and a trial planting garden is being created. Flux works closely on the cases with the designers and management, parks and ecology departments of several municipalities. The results of the study are also shared widely and are valuable for design firms as well as for Dutch cities and their municipal design and management departments. Involved parties are municipality of Almere, municipality of Breda, municipality of Nijmegen, municipality of The Hague and possibly Rotterdam, Leiden and Apeldoorn.

Wish I Were Here (Akte 2) – puntCO
Wish I Were Here is a community storytelling project that uses storytelling techniques from theatre to explore the feelings evoked by the housing crisis. The focus is on highlighting disappearing modes of living, such as squatting, free spaces and social housing. The project offers a way to visit lost buildings through stories. People who have lost a home as a result of redevelopment are coached in storytelling and performance sessions to develop their story, storytelling style and visualizations. Accompanied by the visual projections in a set, they tell their story to the audience. This is then translated into an audiovisual installation for an exhibition at Zuid. Boijmans van Beuningen. The aim is to give the storytellers a voice and contribute to coping with their loss. By giving individuals a stage and entering into a conversation, they aim to make the housing crisis tangible and find inspiration for the future. For the project, puntCO is collaborating with a team of external advisers, New Institute, Iona Stichting, Fleur Groenendijk Foundation, Hendrik Muller Foundation and the Municipality of Rotterdam.

Click here for all the projects selected in Architecture in 2023.

numbers

Of the 52 subsidy applications taken into consideration, 26 are receiving grants within the available budget of € 400,000. This brings the percentage of applications receiving grants to 50%.

next round

The closing date for the next Architecture round is 25 January 2024. If you would like to apply for a starting grant in this round, use the Starting Grant Project Canvas. Its aim is to lower the threshold for applying for starting grants and to promote further development towards regular project grant applications.

fund closed

N.B.: From Saturday 23 December 2023 until Sunday 7 January 2024, the Fund will be closed and no new accounts will be registered and processed. This means that you cannot submit an application during this period. However, if you already have an account for the Fund’s online application environment, you can proceed with your application. If you want to work on your application between 23 December 2023 and 7 January 2024, make sure you create an account through our online application environment before Wednesday 20 December 2023. It takes one working day to activate a new account.

Photo at the top: Jaarboek landschapsarchitectuur en stedenbouw in Nederland 2023