belinda van buiten
The ‘Learning from Casablanca’ research project aims at surfacing what motivations, decisions and reasons lay behind the self-organised developments in these areas.
architect / artist
After her studies in Delft Belinda van Buiten worked in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) for L+ P architects and the Institute for Tropical building. In 1990 she worked for Hubert-Jan Henket architects, where she also worked on a regular basis during her studies. In 1992 she established, together with Antoni Folkers en Geoffrey Wilks, FBW Architects with branches in Manchester, Dar es Salaam, Utrecht, Kampala and Kigali. Apart from her work in the FBW office she is a guest lecturer practising on various universities and schools for advanced education in the Netherlands. She has been president of Bouwnetwerk (2003-2005), a network for women active in the construction industry and is, on a regular basis, member of commissions for spatial quality. Belinda is one of the founders of ArchiAfrika, aiming to put African architecture and urbanism on the world map. For African Architecture Matters, the foundation that evolved out of ArchiAfrika, she organised various exhibitions in Africa as guest curator.
projects involved
Belinda was guest curator of exhibition ‘Learning from Casablanca’ in the Cathedral of Casablanca in Morocco as part of the International ArchiAfrika ‘African Perspectives’ Conference in November 2011.
'We managed to organise the exhibition in short time due to the enthusiastic and inspiring collaboration with Casamemoire and the Ecole Superieure de l'Architecture de Casablanca and a group of international students from the Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture.
The ‘Learning from Casablanca’ research project had its focus on the urban, architectural and socio-geographical analysis of two modernist neighbourhoods in Casablanca and aims at surfacing what motivations, decisions and reasons lay behind the self-organised developments in these areas.
The spatial structure in Casablanca has been considerably transformed and appropriated by the inhabitants over time to respond to the requirements and aspirations of everyday life. The neighbourhoods Hay Hassani and Hay Mohammadi are highly interesting cases as they went through substantial changes since their constructions between 1950 and 1962, initiated by its residents.'
MAPUTOPIA passado-presente-futuro
In Maputo Belinda was guest curator of exhibition ‘MAPUTOPIA passado-presente-futuro’ in the Conselho Municipal de Maputo for the 125th anniversary of Maputo in November 2012.
'Within this exhibition I worked in close collaboration with the late dean of the Department of Architecture of the University of Pretoria Karel Bakker and the Faculty of Architecture and Physical Planning of the Eduardo Mondlane University of Maputo, the Delft University of Technology, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, together with a group of international architectural students from various universities.
‘Maputopia’ celebrates Maputo’s wonderful architectural qualities through a mapping exercise of its past, present and its possible future: another 125 years of architectural pride. For the 125th anniversary of Maputo, this exhibition celebrates Maputo’s architecture and, at the same time, brings current challenges to its heritage to the fore. Academics and artists meet each other and present a penetrating view on the city.'