Bnieuws 51/01 - Across cultures (2017/18)

B

INDEPENDENT PERIODICAL OF THE FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT TU DELFT

01

Colofon

Bnieuws Volume 51 Issue 01 05 September 2017 Contact Room BG.Midden.140 Julianalaan 134 2628 BL Delft bnieuws-bk@tudelft.nl Editorial Team Nadine van den Berg Lydia Giokari Noortje Weenink Contributors Ola Gordowy

EXPLORE 08

Saint Petersburg

14

For the Love of Lanzarote

22

Inside Bnieuws

Cover Singer House SPB

by Alex 'Florstein' Fedorov Editorial Advice Board Robert Nottrot Pierijn van der Putt Marcello Soeleman Ivan Thung Linda van Keeken Next Deadline 19th of September Bnieuws Volume 51 Issue 02 Printed by Druk. Tan Heck 1.350 copies © All rights reserved.

Although all content is treated with great care, errors may occur.

SPEAK 06

#Challenge

07

Welcome to 2017/2018

24

SteeOwee 2017

28

Boxes

29

Exchange Students Welcome to BK City!

34

Visité

35

Peter Russell's 10 Rules for Life

Editorial

ACROSS CULTURES

A warm welcome to all of you who’ve just arrived, and welcome back to all the others!

With the start of the academic year, our faculty is filled with new faces exploring the streets, shops and model hall. A new group of Dutch and international students have started to settle in our faculty for at least the upcoming few months.

Moving to a different country can be challenging for a bunch of reasons. Away from family and friends, it is of utmost importance to feel welcome in your new environment.

Bnieuws 06 (2016–2017) shed light on the problems both students and staff encounter regarding the feeling of inclusiveness within our faculty. This issue we approach the other side: that of exploration and unfamiliarness as an abundant supply of inspiration and excitement.

Nadine explored Saint Petersburg after only a 2.5 hour flight. She takes us by the hand and leads us through this beautiful city, all while exploring the history, art and architectural background of Saint Petersburg.

Meanwhile, Noortje found herself at the island of Lanzarote, in awe of the unity between César Manrique’s architecture and the island’s natural beauty. Instead of writing a big piece on her architectural revelations, she decided to express her newly found insights by means of her own visuals and poetry. After all, a picture is worth more than a thousand words.

Lydia took the time to talk to four exchange students, that visited our faculty last year, and who unfortunately have left us already to go back home. They provide us with some tips and tricks, nostalgia and happy memories of their time in the Netherlands.

Furthermore, Stylos brings us a visual summary of the first year’s weekend for BK Students, SteeOwee, that took place in August. Of course our Dean, Peter Russell, grants us with one of his life lessons. And last but not least, our former editor, Ruiying Lui, shares with us her memories of and vision on (what to expect of) our magazine.

So all in all, we hope that this issue offers you a bit of support and motivation throughout the difficult time of getting (back) into the BK Rhythm. Good luck to all of you this year, and most importantly: have fun!

03

#Bnieuwd

To do / PLAYGROUND SESSION #5 BEYOND MOTION An evening in collaboration with Playgrounds Festival, with typography, illustrations and moving arts. With three designers from the world of motion graphics, focussing on their own discipline.

Het Nieuwe Instituut / 28.09.2017 / 20:00

Public Lecture / DREAM DESIGN DELIVER From September 2017 on the Faculty welcomes Lars Krückeberg, Wolfram Putz and Thomas Willemeit of GRAFT as visiting professors. On 8 September, they will give the public lecture ‘Dream Design Deliver’.

Oostserre / 08.09.2017 / 17:45

04

Lecture / ADVANCED METROPOLITAN SOLUTIONS Professor Arjan van Timmeren (Environmental Technology & Design) will talk about cities, knowledge institutions, citizens and industries working together on advanced metropolitan solutions.

To do / INSTAGRAM AND THE PARADOX OF PHOTOGENIC PRACTICE This Design Dialogue brings together a group of practitioners whose practices engage creatively or critically with Instagram. With Steyn Bergs, Florianne Misslin and Alessandro Bava.

Room B / 11.09.2017 / 12:30

Het Nieuwe Instituut / 21.09.2017 / 19:30

#Bnieuwd

Exhibition / THE OTHER ARCHITECT This exhibition features architects who aimed to shape the contemporary cultural agenda without the intervention of built form. It showcases architecture’s potential to identify the urgent issues of our time, featuring 22 case studies, that illustrate how international and multidisciplinary groups invented and adopted new methods outside of traditional design practices.

To do / WALK-IN CONCERT Listen to the concerts in the Old Church!

Het Nieuwe Instituut / 08.09.2017 – 07.01.2018

02.09.2017 / 14:00

Old & New Church /

05

Exhibition / ARGUS ANNUAL EXPO The second ARGUS Architecture Exposition showcases the most remarkable and ambitious projects and thesis’ of the academic year 2016–2017. The opening event will take place on 6 September, from 6pm, with talks from both the students and teachers. This inspiring night will open the new academic year.

To do / DISCOVER DELFT WITH A CITYWALK During the tourist season there are daily tours, city walks and boat tours along the canals, led by experts guides.

BK Expo / 04.09 – 22.09.2017

09:00

VVV Delft / 02.09 – 15.09.2017 /

06

WELCOME TO 2017/2018 Welcome to Delft! Welcome to Bouwkunde!

For those of you who are new to the place, welcome to one of the best places to study, research and discuss architecture and the built environment in the world. For those of you returning, welcome back–we’ve got some new things this year and a lot of good things that are continuing.

First up: Renovations have been successful over the summer. Those with a visual memory will never remember the Oostserre SOOOO shiny. Nor an orange carpet in the east wings of BK City on the ground floor. And where did that bumpy floor go in the street? The FMVG team has worked hard to improve conditions including additional seating for quiet work and a new ‘open library’ in the Dean’s Wing to be inaugurated in the coming weeks. We’ve also improved the seating around the Bouwpub and the Bouwpub team has renovated the Bouwpub interiors themselves.

Whew!

Secondly: If the place seems full, it is. This year we have a recent high in new and returning students. While this speaks volumes for our success and attractiveness, it also means we are running at 100% capacity this year. While we expect to manage this, it means there is little margin for error. Attentiveness on everyone part, and a degree of tolerance if things get bumpy will help us ride out any early logistical issues. One of the advantages of Bouwkunde @TU Delft is our size so if we’ve grown a bit, that’s a good thing.

Thirdly: Our running programs continue to evolve and expand. We’re welcoming some excellent researchers and architects as part of the Visiting Professors program: Fulong Wu from the University College London will be conducting projects and seminars with MBE and Urbanism. GRAFT Architects, from Berlin, will be working with Complex Projects to complement their curation of the German Pavilion at the Venice Biennale next year. Of course, there is always more to see and do than anyone has time for–it’s why we love this place.

I hope the summer has been one of rejuvenation, inspiration and rest. We have had a chance to work on the infrastructure these past weeks in order to ensure the best conditions possible for all the citizens of BK City. Now -on with the show!

Peter Russell / Dean

07

Architectural Holidays

SAINT PETERSBURG Words Nadine van den Berg

Saint Petersburg is simply one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is filled with architectural splendour, majestic landmarks and splendid canals with over 300 bridges. This city was founded in 1703 by Tsar Peter the Great and was designed to be a capital from the start, which it was between 1713 and 1918. St. Petersburg is an inspiration for anyone interested in architecture, art or history.

The destination for my summer was St. Petersburg, located in the north of Russia. My reason for visiting this city was the beautiful architecture I had heard and read about. I was intrigued and curious about this city, that has been praised by many who had visited it, and I wanted to experience it for myself. After only a 2.5 hour flight I arrived in St. Petersburg.

08

So where to begin in this city so full of sights? The answer would be the Hermitage.

From the main avenue Nevski Prospekt, which you can easily reach by metro, you only have to walk a straight line and turn right near the end. The metro stations around here are works of art themselves1, filled with an elegance you won’t find in metro stations anywhere else, except maybe Moscow.

The Nevski Prospekt includes many chief sights, including the Kazan Cathedral, the Mikhailovsky Palace, the classical theatre and the Singer house from where you can also see the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood.

The Kazan Cathedral2 was constructed in the early 19th century by the Russian architect Andrei Voronikhin and is built in a neoclassical style. The cathedral was inspired by the St. Peter Basilica in Rome and was intended to be the country’s main

1

2

2

Orthodox Church. The building is notable for its grand north facade facing the main avenue Nevski Prospekt, with a curved colonnade anchored by massive end blocks on the east and west.

with the Hermitage, the Victory column and the Guard Corps Headquarters form an ensemble together. The square is pleasantly crowded with people and a few street musicians who lift your mood when you pass them by.

The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood3 stands out by being built in medieval Russian architecture style in a city centre with predominantly Baroque and Neoclassical buildings. It is oftentimes confused with the Saint Basil’s Cathedral on the Red Square in Moscow, but the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood is easily recognizable by the Griboedov Canal that runs next to it. The interior has one of the largest mosaic collections of Europe, while the exterior is decorated with Italian limestone and various semiprecious stones. There are twenty granite plates which tell the most important events of Tsar Alexander II’s reign.

Situated between these two churches stands the Singer House4: a fine example of Art Nouveau that you can find in St. Petersburg and currently a bookstore. This tower creates the impression of a substantial elevation, but is subtle enough not to overshadow either one of the churches. If you stand on the bridge before the Singer House, you will be able to see all these buildings at once.

But where is the Hermitage? If you manage to walk past these remarkable buildings, you only have to turn right near the end of the Nevski Prospekt and walk underneath the large arc of the Guard Corps Headquarters. A wide square appears with the Hermitage right in front of you and the Victory Column in the middle5. The Palace Square, together

3

The museum was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and was designed by the Italian architect Francesco Rastrelli. It is a green and white Baroque building that includes elements of French Rococo the interior. The Winter Palace, adjoining the museum, has been the main residence of the Tsars from 1762 onwards. Nowadays the Winter Palace and the Hermitage are one museum and you can visit the private apartments.

Currently the Hermitage museum exhibits over three million pieces. It is said that it would take eleven years to appreciate the whole collection, so I advise you to take a tour guide. After you’ve completed the tour you can always stroll around the building some more.

09

The first thing to render you speechless when you enter the palace is the staircase7. Your eyes don’t know what to focus on. There are golden ornaments, marble balustrades, a painted ceiling, statues of Greek gods, and massive grey granite columns when you enter the top. You feel the grandeur and richness radiating from it and it’s impressive to say the least.

It’s easy to imagine that this staircase was once a focal point for the arriving visitors of the Tsar.

The Hermitage definitely lives up to its reputation: you can easily spend a whole day in the museum

4

... Люблю тебя, Петра творенье, Люблю твой строгий, стройный вид, Невы державное теченье, Береговой её гранит, Твоих оград узор чугунный, Твоих задумчивых ночей Прозрачный сумрак, блеск безлунный, Когда я в комнате моей Пишу, читаю без лампады, И ясны спящие громады Пустынных улиц, и светла Адмиралтейская игла ...

А. Пушкин, Медный всадник (1833), стих 43-54

... I love you, Peter’s great creation, I love your view of stern and grace, The Neva wave’s regal procession, The grayish granite – her bank’s dress, The airy iron-casting fences, The gentle transparent twilight, The moonless gleam of your nights restless, When I so easy read and write Without a lamp in my room lone, And seen is each huge buildings’ stone Of the left streets, and is so bright The Admiralty spire’s flight ...

A. Pushkin, The Bronze Horseman (1833), verse 43-54

6

5

12

enjoying the history and art. After leaving the Hermitage some good hours later, I make sure to stop by the Victory Column that so prominently rises from the Palace Square5. I have learned that it’s the Alexander Column, a monument that was raised after the Russian victory in the war with Napoleon and designed by the French architect Auguste de Montferrand.

used as museums, such as the Central Navy Museum, the Zoological Museum and the Kunstkamera.

Aside from the Alexander Column, de Montferrand also designed the St. Isaac Cathedral8, which is easy to reach by foot from the Hermitage. The St. Isaac Cathedral is the longest Russian orthodox cathedral in St. Petersburg. This Neoclassical church from the early 19th century has a Greek-cross ground plan with a large central dome and four subsidiary domes.

The exterior features a total of 112 red granite columns with Corinthian capitals. The main dome is 101.5 metres high and is plated with pure gold. The dome is decorated with twelve six meter tall statues of angels by Josef Hermann. You can climb this cathedral for a splendid view of St. Petersburg.

The Mikhailovsky Palace9 was built in Empire style and it is located on the banks of the Moika river with charming gardens. You are able to see this building from the Nevski Prospekt. Nowadays it houses the main collections of the Russian Museum. It has two different, but equally impressive facades, one facing the Field of Mars across the Moika River, and other towards the Nevski Prospekt. The Mikhailovsky Palace remains one of the finest works of early 19th-century architecture in St. Petersburg.

From the St. Isaac Cathedral you can see the river Neva. On the other side of the Neva are several old palaces from the 18th century that are now mostly

Another notable architect that left their mark on this city is the Italian architect Carlo Rossi. A few of his most known works are the Mikhailovsky Palace, Alexandrinsky Theatre and 2 Rossi Street.

Writers Russia has many great writers, such as Pushkin, Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy. This city so full of sights especially has inspired Alexander Pushkin. Pushkin is the most important writer of Russian literature and is considered to be the founder of the modern

9

6

9

7

Russian language (much like Shakespeare is for the English language). His works are well known all over Russia, but most foreigners have never heard of the writer. It is said to really understand Pushkin’s work, you must read them in Russian…

Still, it’s fascinating to find out more about this man who reformed an entire language. The Pushkin Museum is located at his house at the Moika River Embankment. It’s a typical 19th century aristocratic family home. It has a cosy set of rooms with a small courtyard where he lived with his wife Natalia and their children.

White Nights It is also lovely to just wander beside the rivers and canals of St. Petersburg, as it is not only the famous landmarks what makes this city interesting. Ordinary streets with their architectural styles from the 18th to 20th century feel romantic and have its own character and atmosphere11.

With all those canals and bridges you cannot help to think of Delft. During one of these walks you might even try and count the lion statues10 you stumble upon, which the old St. Petersburg has an

10

8

overwhelming amount of. Or you can visit one of the many city parks, like the Summer Gardens or the Mikhailovsky Gardens.

The most special time of the year to walk around St. Petersburg is June. Around this time of the year the White Nights occur. The White Nights is the name given in areas of high latitude to the weeks around the summer solstice in June during which sunsets are late and darkness is never complete. During these days it is possible to read by ‘daylight’ in the middle of the night. Walking throughout the city is a wonderful experience as the traffic is light but the streets and boulevards are pleasantly crowded. The last days of June are celebrated with cultural events.

13

Captivating St. Petersburg has a lot to offer to anyone interested in architecture, art and history. This city with its own character and cultural heart is definitely worth a visit. St. Petersburg is a captivating city like no other, that will remain in your memory long after you’ve left.

The sources for the images can be found on the online page 36: issuu.com/bnieuws

11

“The direct contact of my flesh with the naked rocks of nature gives me the vital strength of life’s energy.”

César Manrique

Architectural Holidays

FOR THE LOVE OF LANZAROTE Words & Images Noortje Weenink

Born through fiery volcano eruptions, the island of Lanzarote is filled with lava fields and extravagant rock formations. In summer I visited Lanzarote and fell in love with the island, as well as with the architecture and vision of local architect César Manrique (1919–1992). Manrique adored the unique, planet Mars-like scenery of Lanzarote. By means of his architecture and activism, he fought for the preservation of Lanzarote’s natural beauty.

It is hard to imagine Lanzarote—the most northern of the Canary Islands—without thinking of César Manrique. The artist, designer and architect has influenced the island’s built environment like no other. After serving in the Spanish Civil War, Manrique studied and graduated at the Royal Acadamy of Fine Arts in Madrid, and later moved to New York City. But born on and in love with Lanzarote, he decided to come back in 1966, and stayed in his homeland until his death.

During this time, tourism began to flourish on the Canary Islands. Manrique also recognised the touristic potential of Lanzarote, but realised that in order to stay one-of-akind, the island needed to be careful in accomodating the travellers. Unlike the other islands, Manrique made sure that Lanzarote didn’t turn into a high-rise hotel paradise.

With protests and logical reasoning, Manrique stopped the development of several high-rise hotels, some of whose skeletons are still visible on the island. He convinced the government to set up building regulations for the whole island, most of which are still in tact. For example, buildings are not allowed to be taller than four stories (with the exception of the Gran Hotel in capital city Arrecife, which was built during Manrique’s time in the United States). All buildings have to be finished with white plaster, and window frames are only allowed to one of three colours relating to the island’s scenery: blue, brown, or green.

Manrique was prone to find harmony between his architecture and its environment. His most prominent building on Lanzarote, his former home and now the César Manrique Foundation, is built in five “volcanic bubbles”, left-over spaces of volcanic eruptions. The surrounding lava field forms the ceiling, walls and floors of the inner spaces. Daylight falls through openings in the ceiling, where lava once spewed through the surface. Smooth, white plaster balances the jagged surface of the basalt rocks. Here, landscape and building are in symbiosis: both reliant on and propitious to each other, distinctive yet intertwined; protecting and improving each other’s existence by means of a mutual understanding.

< César Manrique Foundation, Tahiche.

> Visitor’s Centre near Timanfaya National Park >> Restaurant “El Diablo”, Timanfaya National Park >>> César Manrique Foundation, Tahiche.

15

“The universe has already discovered all things. All we have to do now is be more humble, acknowledge our own limitations and try by all means to learn from the experience of millions of centuries of this marvelous spatial harmony which it has been our fate to discover.”

César Manrique

Lanzarote witte dozen kleden de korstenâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; geven kracht aan de plooien van de zwarte horizon stapels stenen omarmen soepele kneuzingen in haar huid 18

schaduwen begeren de glooiende curves, fluwelen nevel als een stilteâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; verdooft de ademhaling zacht het is een lichaam dat bemind wordt door de vingertop alleen

Lanzarote white cubes clothe the crusts ofâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; power the pleaded black horizion stacks of stones embrace the limber bruises of her skin clouds covet the rolling curves, velvet mist deafens, gently my respiration her body caressed by the soft touch of a fingertip

19

i.s.m. als steen en vuur versmelten kozijnen zich ontdoen vanbinnen en van buiten nu zij doorzien dat het donker verlicht

20

in collaboration with when fire turns to stone and streams stutter where window frames undo within and without for they recognise how much beauty, black offers

21

Explore

INSIDE BNIEUWS Words Lydia Giokari

As an opening act for the new year which is now starting, the Editors of Bnieuws decided to introduce the periodical to the new incoming students who will read it for the first time, through the eyes of our former editor Ruiying Liu. Ruiying graduated last July and she has been an inspiring writer-reporter in Bnieuws for the past year.

Could you introduce Bnieuws in 10 words to the new incoming students BK tabloid, geek corner and the fine tradition of architectural verbosity.

Where can someone find Bnieuws?

Right in front of their eyes… or, for live representatives, in the west-end office of BK Street.

What can someone find in Bnieuws?

Thoughts of their fellow BK Citizens and the invisible eyes of their professors and the Dean.

What was your favourite article that you wrote?

‘All About Lines’ in Bnieuws 06 of 2016-2017, where I successfully wrestl a very complex interview with a very complex mind into a cute little article. And ‘Pink a Place’ from the previous issue, where I found the joy of working with a group of interviewees.

Why is the magazine important in your opinion for the students and the Faculty?

Haha I’d rather not affirm that it’s important, otherwise it would be ‘self-important’ for me as an (ex-)editor, right? Actually, I rather hope it will be less ‘important’ and more unpredictable, serving as a channel to more significant things: growth of minds by exploration and stimulation.

How did you decide to apply for working as an editor?

At first, although I always liked writing, I had to work part-time and work on study. Until my best friend revealed to me that Bnieuws can combine both… I mean, the only exciting possibility about carrying dishes around is that they might fall like a landslide. But Bnieuws gives you the racing-to-deadline-with-a-horse-whip-on-your-back kind of excitement, and you get to wave your publications in an application and say this is the proof of the quality of my intellectual life during that time.

Do you have any special moment or memory to share from your time in Bnieuws?

Unforgettable moments, of course. Countless production sessions—I don’t remember how many times exactly, but they form one moment, always the same, with the tips of your hair feeling on fire. Twice my interviewees stepped into the office with positive remarks. And once an absolutely brilliant student came into the office wanting to be part of the team (and she’s now our cartoonist).

Is there anything you would like to change in Bnieuws?

Yes. I’d like changes to happen more often! Changes, as in innovations. Good or bad, doesn’t matter. One of these times you’ll get it right. Bnieuws will never be ‘the best’ student-run magazine, ever. Because it’s built on shifting sand (frequent changing of hands), and it’s run by non-professionals. But it exists so that endless non-professionals can come in and have their ways innovating, astonishing or irritating serious professionals, and gain their own sense of accomplishment and personal growth. The readers who read these unconventional products will also find inspirations that exist nowhere else. So, we shouldn’t huddle around the legacy of predecessors and just pump text into templates. It’s not really about the layout, but the ideas.

Do you have any plans for the upcoming year(s)? Has your experience at Bnieuws changed your idea of a future job?

Yes and no. I do my best to catch any opportunity, but nothing is certain. Bnieuws experience definately has given me more courage to bear the uncertainties, because my time there has taught me about myself and the contribution I can make to my surroundings.

What was your favourite part of the job? And the most challenging?

To quote myself: “There’s nothing I like more than making good ideas even better. That’s why I like editing. There’s nothing more gratifying than plant the idea to write in someone, and seeing the text come true!”

You can say I like pulling brilliant ideas out my own head, but that just gets a bit old after some time. Like Socrates’ idea of a philosopher’s role: midwife for others’ wisdom.

Because my own wisdom is limited, but the wisdom of others is endless.

What skills did you develop during your time as an editor?

The most valuable one is the ability to rephrase the same message in several dozen ways.

Compressing or blowing up the text by navigating the multi-dimensional space within concepts, syntax and figures of speech.

What surprised you the most about being an editor at Bnieuws?

I voluntarily overworked.

What will you miss from being an Editor?

The rapid cycles of idea publishing. (I know in the context of sustainability it’s not really healthy, but it’s just such a nice pace to stack up accomplishments and skills.)

Welkom

STEEOWEE 2017 Words & Images S.B.S.G. Stylos

300 Aankomende eerstejaars, 60 mentoren en 20 man organisatie waande zich van tijdens de SteeOwee 2017 in het thema â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;vrijmetselaarsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

Dit weekend voor aankomende eerstejaars wordt elk jaar georganiseerd door D.B.S.G. Stylos. Van bruggen metselen tot instrumenten maken van bouwkundig afval en live muziek tot feestjes: de SteeOwee was dit jaar weer een groot succes. De eerstejaars hebben niet alleen elkaar, maar ook de stad Delft leren kennen. We wensen alle aankomende eerstejaars een prachtig begin van hun studententijd toe op onze mooie faculteit!

BOXES

The other day, my parents dropped off a number of boxes containing notebooks and other things from when I was very young. Primary school stuff. Notebooks with clumsily written words and calculations. Long divisions, verb conjugations, the infamous Dutch d-t problem. There were drawings too­­—I went to a school that put a premium on artistic expression—and poems, which I think were cited for us to write down as a sort of spelling exercise.

28

I have no recollection of any of this; it is like looking at parts of someone else’s life. I stare at the drawing of a mineshaft, but have no memory of making it, nor of a teacher inspiring it. None of these artefacts provide a specific, articulated memory. Only as a whole do they form something coherent: a vague rendering of a ‘mood’, a generalized sense of what it was like to be eight or ten.

For a while I wonder why it is so difficult to get a grip on this mood. It is so shifty and elusive. Then I realise that the mood is characterised by a way of looking at the world that I’ve lost the ability to re-enact. It is created by a perception of time and sense of place-in-the-world that is so completely alien to my present position, that it becomes almost invisible, save for some glimpses here and there.

One of the boxes contains objects of a more recent date: my very first designs as an architecture student. A house. Some interlocking geometric shapes. A cube of some sort. I remember making them. I also remember the mood in which I made them.

I wonder if, in twenty years, those memories too will lose their shape and that all that is left is a general sense of what it was like to be a student.

Pierijn van der Putt / Docent Architectuur

Sharing memories

EXCHANGE STUDENTS WELCOME TO BK CITY! Words Lydia Giokari Images Students

The new academic year is about to start and probably your minds are full of questions and anxieties: What is going to happen? What you are going to face during your exchange in our faculty? Bnieuws asked some former exchange students to share their memories in order to provide some helpful tips and advices for the new incoming students. In their one-page reports they gave the titles that characterised best their memories. Let their experiences be a guide to BK City and exchange life.

Did you know? Our faculty has 70 exchange partner–Universities worlwide for the academic year 2018–2019. For the year 2016–2017 we received 117 exchange students, from which 20 for a full year and the others for a semester. For the current academic year we expect to receive approximately 120 exchange students.

MSC UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE | 6 MONTHS

absolutely everything, while it may seem daunting to be by yourself in a foreign country, staying in your comfort zone is not what you came here to do. Your time here will literally fly by, so treasure every second.

Describe your experience in the Netherlands / BK City in three words.

Adventurous, eye-opening, exhilarating.

After your experience, would you do the exchange again?

Absolutely! It was the best experience of my life.

What was the hardest thing to get used to in the Netherlands? What is the biggest difference with the faculty where you study?

The hardest thing was to ride a bike everywhere and also being expected to go on long bike tours as part of class. The biggest difference with my faculty was that BK City building is better than ours. Apart from that during the courses a lot of collaboration was going on.

What will you miss from your life in the Netherlands /BK City?

I miss all the friends I made, and the exchange lifestyle that was carefree and full of potential.

MY EXPERIENCE WAS:

UNFORGETTABLE student NANCY WANG

30

What do you wish you had known before coming here?

I should have learnt to ride a bike earlier, and also not stressed about paperwork so much. When you are about to go on exchange, it can feel like you are being drowned in paperwork and forms (Have I got all my insurance sorted? How about my bank account?), but what I found was that a lot of things naturally get sorted once you get here and are greeted by the TU Delft staff. My advice for new exchange students would be: get out there and do

Share a picture which is related to your experience of your exchange and tell us why you picked it.

The image below was not taken at BK City, however, most of the people in it studied there. This was one of my favourite nights on exchange. Our studio group decided to have a multi-cultural night where we each bought along a dish from our countries. I loved the diverse and open culture BK City fostered.

In what way are you happy to be back home?

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s good to see my family again and be back in a familiar environment. But I will always remember those awesome days at Delft!

MY EXPERIENCE WAS:

GEZELLIG! student eduardo puertes espert

MSC UNIVERSIDAD POLITÉCNICA DE VALENCIA | 12 MONTHS

Describe your experience in the Netherlands / BK City in three words.

Freedom, growth and joy.

What was the hardest thing to get used to in the Netherlands? What is the biggest difference with the faculty where you study?

The first semester for me was quite a challenge. After the first sunny weeks during the Introduction Programme, I experienced a big cultural shock due to the bad weather and the Dutch timetables. It took me a while to start enjoying the rainy days, the “kroketten”, the early dinners and, by now, I think I even miss them sometimes. Apart from the differences of installations and facilities, BK City offers an international environment that I couldn’t even imagine at my home university.

What do you wish you had known before coming here?

It would have been nice to know how necessary a Dutch bankcard was to buy almost everything in the Faculty. I would highly recommend getting one so you can buy candies and chocolates in the middle of the

afternoon when you are working in the studio and really craving them. Also, try to learn Dutch, you will end up liking it and even being able to use basic expressions in that lovely language. Last but not least: umbrellas are useless in the windy Delft and a good raincoat is indispensable.

What will you miss from your life in the Netherlands /BK City?

The lady in the canteen telling me “Eet smakelijk” at lunch time, having coffee breaks in the Espresso bar, my always-broken bike, kapsalons coming back home after a party, and the studio culture.

Share a picture which is related to your experience of your exchange and tell us why you picked it.

The studio space became a second home in Delft during my exchange. We were a multi-cultural family working there but also having lunch, dinner, eating birthday cakes, having beers and coffee, and sometimes even having naps in the comfortable studio chairs. But, what we did the most was giving advice and helping each other during the design process. I knew that if I asked for comments, I would get an honest and friendly feedback to improve my design and keep working on it. That’s exactly what is going on in the picture and what reflects the studio atmosphere.

31

MY EXPERIENCE WAS:

DEFINING student ALINA DA PORCIUNCULA PAIAS

miss them a lot already. I have also experienced trust and respect coming from several tutors, in a way I never did before, and I am sure I will miss that through these last semesters before I graduate.

MSC UNIVERSITY OF SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL | 12 MONTHS

Describe your experience in the Netherlands / BK City in three words.

Safe, pleasant, enlightening.

32

What was the hardest thing to get used to in the Netherlands? What is the biggest difference with the faculty where you study?

The hardest thing to get used to was probably the fact that due to the very multicultural character of the student body, you have to learn how to establish relationships through ways that were not only automatic idewhere when a light breaks it stays broken for the year. We have no coffee machines or printers, not enough tables and our chairs are definitely not Vitra. I sadly learned how, at the end, small things like those add up to making a much more pleasant and profitable school experience, much more efficient students and, at the end, much better work.

What do you wish you had known before coming here?

My biggest tip is to believe in yourself and in what you’re able to do. You will meet extremely talented people who have worked for the biggest offices and have studied in the best schools in Europe. It is easy to feel diminished and believe me, I felt that multiple times. But if you come from a place like I did, there’s no way to compare experiences. Trust in what you can do and value your personal history: you will find your place, tutors and friends that value your work.

After your experience, would you do the exchange again?

Absolutely. As a matter of fact, I consider coming back to the TU in the future.

What will you miss from your life in the Netherlands /BK City?

I have found people I genuinely love in BK and I

Share a picture which is related to your experience of your exchange and tell us why you picked it.

I chose this photo of when I was in Portugal with two friends from my school in São Paulo. It is taken during a match we watched in the Braga stadium, the “Pedreira”. It is a design by Souto de Moura and I have always dreamed of visiting this place. To me, it is one of the most beautiful and complete pieces of Architecture ever built. Being able to visit it and see it filled with people, cheering under heavy rain and cold, made me elated. It was a moment of pure happiness. It was a long standing dream come true through immense serendipity: I would have never been able to afford visiting lovely Braga if I was not already in Europe. I will be forever grateful for this and I will keep this moment with me forever.

In what way are you happy to be back home?

I am happy to be back with my friends, listening to their stories and slowly discovering the ways in which they also changed while I was away. I also missed how São Paulo has some good cheap food!

Sorry, Netherlands, but that’s really not your strong suit.

MY EXPERIENCE WAS:

GEZELLIG!

home in this beautiful country and I hope to one day come back and stay for even longer.

student claire bazeley

MSC UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA | 6 MONTHS

Describe your experience in the Netherlands / BK City in three words.

Beautiful, bicycles and broodje.

What was the hardest thing to get used to in the Netherlands? What is the biggest difference to the faculty where you study?

When I arrived in the Netherlands, I thought I could ride a bike. I was not prepared for the bike traffic, and for being overtaken by an elderly man eating an ice cream. I was also not prepared for just how small it was. In my mind it was the size of New Zealand, where in reality it is smaller than Tasmania (although there is a lot more going on in the Netherlands). The Faculty, however, is much, much bigger than what I am used to. Also, I was overwhelmed with the options at TU Delft! I loved that you could choose a Chair each semester and engage fully in electives specific to that theme. However, I would say I missed the regionalist focus of my home university. There we are taught in depth about vernacular climatic response and sensitive design reactions to the environment, but less about technology. Almost no insulation.

What do you wish you had known before coming here?

I wish I had known about all of the paperwork! I always thought the Australian bureaucracy was formidable, but the Netherlands is really something else. Always be organised, be prepared to fill in a lot of forms, and if at all possible, be European. That would make the whole thing a lot easier.

After your experience, would you do the exchange again?

I am counting down the time until I finish my degree in Australia and can visit the Netherlands again. My time in Delft was a fantastic experience and I am so glad I decided to make the voyage. I found a new

What will you miss from your life in the Netherlands /BK City?

I miss my bike. I miss the stroopwafels, the cheap (but awful) machine coffee and the deep fried food. I miss â&#x201A;Ź1 beer. I miss my new friends. I do not miss the extremely steep Dutch stair cases, and the lack of affordable sushi.

Share a picture which is related to your experience of your exchange and tell us why you picked it.

Although I really hated these stairs in BK city (how unfit they made me feel!), I love this photo from my last week in the Netherlands. This is from my final design review for my Heritage Architecture studio.

By the end we were only 7 students and we spent almost every day leading up to this review in studio together, synchronising our coffee breaks, fantasising about Kaassoufflets and bolting to the Bouwpub at 4 p.m. on Thursdays. Here we are all pinning up in the stairwell, corridors and spare corners so we could keep our work up for everyone to discuss throughout the day. I enjoyed that we all had different ways of working, different experiences and interests. My time in the studios of BK City helped me test ideas in an environment where I knew I would always be challenged and supported and I could always trust my friends to speak their minds!

33

Rogier & Tiemen

VISITÉ

34

Tom Avermaete (1971) is professor of the chair of Methods & Analysis since 2014.

box for their family, they accepted the autonomous presence of the house as a character in their daily life.

Character Five years ago Tom moved to this 19th century residence near the historic city center of Antwerp. Instead of transforming the house in a perfect

Ever dreamt of moving? “When you move, the city becomes your new house. I dream of Copenhagen, a mix between politics, culture and nature”.

The Rules

PETER RUSSELL’S 10 RULES FOR LIFE Words Peter Russell

As a dean, I have had the privilege to give speeches to freshly graduated students, in Delft and elsewhere. Young people who are about to start their careers. In the end, these talks come down to a few nuggets of information. I have pared these down to ten rules and will share them with you in Bnieuws over the coming months.

Rule #6: Be careful what you ask for–you just might get it.

Asking for something is a promise. It means acknowledging the gift and honouring it with all of your might. You will need to know what it is that you want because someday someone is going to give you that thing you want so desperately, whether it be love, trust, wealth, independence or responsibility.

Each of those things are valuable and likely more valuable to the person giving than the recipient (that’s you!). So be careful and take care. Care will be recognised, believe me.

This does not need to be a huge task–you are also allowed to ask for help if need be.

This too needs recognition, but is really, the greatest gift because people generally like to help. (Ok, I know there are some people out there not pulling their weight, but you will find that generally, we are a society and each of us recognises and takes joy in communal undertakings.) It is a huge source of power to help someone and likely the best resource we have as human beings.

So, ask for what you want. If you do not ask, you will not get it. You are allowed to ask.

Be ready to accept the gift–there is likely someone out there willing to give it to you.

Take it and treasure it and make the most of it. And be ready to share when someone asks you for something–they will honour your trust and make you glad to be generous.

That’s it: be grateful and be generous.

35

FYI

SOURCES Saint Petersburg pages 8-13 ST Petersburg Metro Kirovsky Zvod. (2006).

MatthiasKabel. Retrieved from https://commons. wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ST_Petersburg_Metro_ Kirovsky_Zvod.jpg 2 View to Kazan Cathedral by Ivan Smelov. (n.d.).

Ivan Smelov. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/File:View_to_Kazan_Cathedral_by_Ivan_ Smelov.jpg 3 Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. (2011).

Christian Jiménez. Retrieved from https://www. flickr.com/photos/furlin/6124596753/in/photolistakdaeK-5HLf48-fB3XR5-8LUKgm-atKA2h-qhyS5nFGZLU-zz65S-cN3Lzy-v9Sisw-5QZNEF-dNsE3MdD5Ry4-dcxGyS-dXMqWf-codcHE-dZGwus-aGvr3F4U8Pe9-4j2Xf6-DnmJ5v-dPAT4s-6G4BSo-ehTHSLqhwRN-fMxBmN-ehWaXs-aoihxf-kPXwqj-4j6ZQEDjVXoG-h5Fwnu-s1qLJV-6MpQ8-6ATS9M-4j2XJgdLeUAZ-CZ2B8p-zUHEtL-cn36S5-frkoKL-ckwaXCehQqEe-do4nYY-dKPTsn-7CPS4n-8LoWb48LoWLH-fp8nQE-mhuDqV 4 Singer Company House (Book House) at Nevsky Avenue in Saint Petersburg. (2014). Alex 'Florstein' Fedorov. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Singer_House#/media/File:Singer_House_ SPB_01.jpg 5 Alexander Column. (2009). Dennis Jarvis.

Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/ archer10/4122823192 6 Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. (2012). Larry Koester. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/ photos/larrywkoester/16289834822/ 7 Jordan Staircase, Winter Palace (2014). Paul Gilbert. Retrieved from http://www.angelfire.com/ pa/ImperialRussian/blog/index.

1

36

blog/1453457/a-russian-moment-no-32-jordanstaircase-winter-palace/ 8 Saint Isaac's Cathedral in SPB. (2012). Alex 'Florstein' Fedorov. Retrieved from https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Isaac%27s_ Cathedral_in_SPB.jpeg 9 Panoramic view of the facade of the Mikhailovsky Palace (Russian Museum) (2009). Erwyn van der Meer. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/ photos/erwyn/4202295344/in/photolist-p8kBQigpz3aR-dJkWU3-dzsqEJ-ahVB45-6RHS2X6RMVem-6RMV4y-6RMVjJ-fQokhs-7ph1CK-5gckGi7pkS11-7pkTvA-ahVSKu-cownWh-couNoA-6RHRLv8Xhnpg-6RMUXd-5gcqoe-6RMUU5-7pfBjD5ggL3Y-fQokH7-97cg8C 10 St. Petersburg Bank Bridge. (2010). jaime.silva.

Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/ photos/20792787@N00/5097497190/ 11 Moyka river embankment. (2013). ah zut.

Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/ mon_oeil/10507069335/in/photolist-ABF79Wh1ttDR-3mhCTo Spread: S.Peterburg, Neva river, Vasilievsky island.

(2008). Konstantin Zhukov. Retrieved from http:// images.esosedi.ru/s_peterburg_neva_river_ vasilie/140428/index.

37

Bnieuws VOLUME 51 EDITION 01