When it was founded in 2001, the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR), had something of a hidden agenda. An ostensibly public agora for the discussion of architecture within Rotterdam, it was more serious and technical than other European biennials, as if it cared little for a wider international audience—odd given its official name includes the word “international,” and that the city was home to OMA and MVRDV, practices which had become famous globally for their legible but progressive ideas about the broader urban context of architecture.
Under the aegis of George Brugmans, IABR was as much a research and policy-led organization, trying to influence not just the city’s architecture but urban development across the Netherlands, reflecting the city’s role as the most successful act of post-war urban planning in Europe. But it was not, ultimately, a wise move politically. In 2020, the city’s culture committee refused to renew the organization’s operating grant—around 20% of its income—having grown tired of paying for a body which was often critical of the city. Brugmans, who was retiring anyway, slammed the door on his way out, making public his criticism of the city. And to cap it all, Covid hit.
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