Building Ecologies: Nature in the City

This opening event of the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR) in collaboration with Nieuwe Instituut, is part of the closing event of Rotterdam Architecture Month. IABR director Saskia van Stein and Nature of Hope curators Janna Bystrykh, Catherine Koekoek, Alina Paias, Hani Salih, and Noortje Weenink will kick off the event. Jeremy Till (Mould) will give a keynote after the introduction. Another speaker is Baerbell Mueller (architect and researcher). A special guest is Chicago based urban planner Emmanuel Pratt who will speak about the work of the Sweet Water Foundation: a community-based non-profit organization involved in Regenerative Neighborhood Development. In the conversation with Emmanuel Pratt, we will discuss designing and building ecologies in Chicago, Rotterdam, and other places and spaces.
Opening Symposium IABR: Nature of Hope (13:00-15:00)

This edition of IABR, titled Nature of Hope has a focus on how architecture can contribute to become a regenerative spatial design practice. The afternoon programme of Building Ecologies – Nature in the City will kick-off with a brief introduction to the Nature of Hope theme by IABR director Saskia van Stein and Nature of Hope curators Janna Bystrykh, Catherine Koekoek, Alina Paias, Hani Salih and Noortje Weenink.

Then British architect, educator and writer Jeremy Till (MOULD) will give a keynote lecture followed with a conversation with Baerbel Mueller ([APPLIED] FOREIGN AFFAIRS) and Pedro Aparicio-Llorente (APLO Architecture & Landscape). In this conversation some of the geological, historical and social aspects are explored of how architecture plays a role in contributing to biodiversity, local ecologies and social connectivity. And what is needed for a more hopeful, regenerative spatial design practice.
Re-Storying the Nature of Hope with Emmanuel Pratt (15:30-17:00)

Rotterdam Architecture Month (RAM), International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR), and Nieuwe Instituut invite urban designer Emmanuel Pratt to talk about the work of the Sweet Water Foundation; a community-rooted, nonprofit organization that practices Regenerative Neighborhood Development (RND). Emmanuel Pratt will reflect on experiences and exchanges during his visit during a conversation with participants to RAM, IABR and the audience - reflecting on designing and building ecologies in Chicago, Rotterdam, Amsterdam and other places and spaces.

Emmanuel's talk offers a critical examination of how cities utilize resources, labor, land, and materials to address societal and climate crisis in response to the future of the built environment. The conversation explores how SWF's practice of Regenerative Neighborhood Development at its Communiversity campus instead cultivates true Common Wealth - the spaces, structures, networks, resources, and opportunities essential to mending the urban fabric, healing communities, and equipping our neighborhoods to thrive rather than merely survive. The talk invites us to imagine: "What if??? What if.... development took place on a human and eco-logical scale, fueled by critical connections that cultivate the relationships and collective commitment to do the work necessary to re-story a new vision for a future rooted in nature and hope.

Emmanuel Pratt and the Sweet Water Foundation

For the past two decades, Emmanuel’s work has interrogated the cross-sectionality of Architecture, Urban Design, Urban Planning, Agroecology, Art, and Human Development. Emmanuel Pratt is the co-founder and Executive Director of Sweet Water Foundation (SWF), a community-rooted nonprofit organization headquartered in Chicago.

Since 2014, SWF has re-generated and re-storied six contiguous city blocks in the South Side of Chicago into what is now known as The Commonwealth. Today, The Commonwealth is a bio-dynamic Communiversity campus for Urban Ecology, Human Development, Civic Arts, and Regenerative Neighborhood Development (RND). RND is an interdisciplinary and intergenerational practice that offers a unique blend of design, agroecology, and lifelong education that cultivates the physical spaces, programs, and resources necessary to heal and nurture people across cultures, geographies, and generations.

Emmanuel was a Harvard GSD Loeb Fellow in 2017, a 2019 Joyce Award recipient, and a 2019 MacArthur Fellow.

The visit of Emmanuel Pratt is made possible by the International Visitors Programme of the Nieuwe Instituut with support from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs – along with support from Rotterdam Architecture Month and International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Nieuwe Instituut, 25 Museumpark, Rotterdam, Netherlands