The Studio is based in Schieblock, Rotterdam city laboratory. In the creative heart of cultural Rotterdam, the studio offers all partners a physical place where encounters, dialogue and exchange are central

Yesterday evening, the Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAI) launched the Studio for Unsolicited Architecture (SUA) in De Dépendance of the Schieblock. The Studio is dedicated to helping promising design ideas achieve realisation. Seeing far too many excellent, socially aware projects failing to reach fruition in the current climate, the NAI saw the need for an intermediary. The Studio puts designers in direct contact with representatives of the financial, commercial, legal or governmental sectors. However, it also provides support through active lobbying, attracting media attention and by helping to clarify and tighten the plan’s central concept. In addition, the Studio organises a regular programme of presentations, debates and workshops.

The launch of the SUA was marked by the presentation of plans by Rocco Reukema (2by4 Architects), Ronald Rietveld (Rietveld Landscape) and Jago van Bergen (VanBergenKolpa architecten). The plans were then assessed by a panel of experts consisting of sociologist Anne Hemker, policy-maker Henk Ovink of the Ministry for Housing, Regional Development and the Environment, and urban planner Bart Schrijnen. During the presentations, the jury subjected the designers to a thorough grilling, and offered practical tips and the names of possible partners.

Too many valuable design ideas are at risk of not being produced because their economic value is not immediately obvious. The Studio will adopt projects with potential, thereby greatly improving their chances of realisation. By taking a pro-active approach, the Studio for Unsolicited Architecture brings architects, policy-makers and the construction world together, to create a better-organised world.