On invitation by the Royal Netherlands Embassy, an introduction visit was made to Algiers in April 2012. The ideas behind the invitation were to search into possibilities to develop an educational cooperation between EPAU, TUDelft and AAMatters. In meetings with various partners – the EPAU, the EC Delegation, Vie de Villes and a couple of local avant garde architects – following topic themes surfaced : Peri-urban issues For an outsider, the city seems to expand without a well framed plan or vision. High-rise, exclusively residential neighborhoods pop up next to farms, industrial activities, old suburban tissues, ecological fringe areas etcetera. This development does have its roots in Algiers’ history it seems, as the city expanded in the past by adding seemingly independent neighborhoods. However, this was mainly due to the geographical situation and segregational colonial policy. Even Le Corbusier’s 1933 Plan Obus was based on a strongly segregated city, notwithstanding the revolutionary ideas. Both these conditions are left behind, as Algiers is expanding on the plains this time and government is not based on segregational policy. The growth of the city, up to the 1980ies followed this organic pattern in a rather natural and loose fashion, leaving the extension time to gradually embed in cultural, technical and natural context. Now, the situation is different, because of the near limitless horizon of the plains and the sheer volume of the growth itself. This causes serious strain on the ecological, infrastructural and cultural context. The rivers and embankments are polluted, mobility is a serious issue, and lack of attention to public space and amenities is dearly felt. However, after consulting various professionals, the situation appears to be quite different. What you see is not what is being conceived in terms of vision and plans, it seems. There is a great and visionary Strategic Plan (Plan Stratégique de développement de la Wilaya d’Alger 2009-2029, PSA’29) in the pipeline, near to being endorsed by the government and issued as guideline for the development of the city. This PSA’29 provides an integral vision on the Algiers urban area as well as its expected future limits within the Province of Algiers (Wilaya d’Alger). What may be lacking, within this ambiguous situation of ‘what you see is not what is being conceived’, is the connection between the numerous (relatively) small scale initiatives on the city edges and this grand vision. Where is the bottom-up attention for the local scaled issues of public space, ecology and cultural context, for instance ? built heritage issues Heritage is a touchy issue in Algiers. The Casbah is receiving increasing attention, and rightly so, because of its rich material and immaterial (La bataille d’Alger) heritage. Yet the modern heritage, of, say the period 1900-1975 – in terms of volume exceeding the pre-modern heritage – is being related to colonial history and thence an excuse for disregarding and demolition is easily found. There is only a small elite that is aware of the tremendous value of Algiers’ modern heritage. Great architects have worked in and on Algiers : Le Corbusier, Oscar Niemeyer, Kenzo Tange, Roland Simounet and Fernand Pouillon, just to name a few. Algiers is, in this respect, comparable to other African cities such as Casablanca and Maputo, where an innovative generation of architects found more fertile ground to realize their dreams than at home. Other African cities with a comparable volume of built heritage are realizing that this heritage is not a burden but can be a generator for city revitalization : to think of Marrakech, Fès and Tunis in the Maghreb, Djenné, Asmara and Zanzibar in subsaharian Africa as well as the ‘Waterfront’ in Capetown. generosity of space in the urban fabric A specific issue that was noted by both Tom Avermaete and author from the visits and study of literature and plans is the development of public space in the urban fabric in Algiers through time. Algiers offers a broad range of interesting solutions in this realm throughout history : from the Casbah, via the pre-Hausmannian waterfront, squares and boulevards to the modern experiments of the Aero-Habitat and Pouillon’s neighborhoods of 200-Colonnes and Dar Mahçoul. The rich imbrications of public space and private residence provide examples from which a lot can be learned. It seems however, as already touched upon under the above heading of the peri-urban issues, that the contemporary developments in Algiers disregard this rich tradition. Researching this tradition of ‘generosity of space’ and applying this approach in a contemporary adaptation, could stand at the base of a sustainable development of the city. This issue is of particular relevance to the Dutch situation as well, as the initiators have discovered through their preceding research and education program on Casablanca (Learning from Casablanca, African Perspectives Casablanca November 2011) and could become a basis for cross-views and exchange between Algeria and Europe. #Algeria #heritage

With projects in Sao Paulo and Ghana, students from the academy in Amsterdam are intrigued by the position of the architect while working abroad. Heinrich Wolff, highly successful prize winning architect from South Africa is often crossing borders in his country. After his lecture for ‘designers of the future’ in Delft on 10 November (see www.designersofthefuture.nl), he shares his ideas on border crossing with the Amsterdam crowd. Kunle Adeyemi (to be confirmed) has been key member of Rem Koolhaas’ OMA team for many years. After his involvement in OMA’s innovative projects in his home country Nigeria, China and elsewhere in the world, he started NLé, focusing on shaping the architecture of development cities. AAmatters director Berend van der Lans is co-founder of ArchiAfrika, the network organization with focus on architecture in Africa which has border-crossing in the core of the veins. After three short introductions on the basis of their work, the speakers will be in discussion on the pros and cons of working in other environments. You are all invited to join. You will find the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture here.

Debate on 8 April at the NAi in Rotterdam with N’Goné Fall, Joe Osae – Addo, Kunle Adeyemi, Jan Konings and the prize winners Debate on 10 April in LUX in Nijmegen with Joe Osae – Addo and the prize winners The African continent is developing rapidly. Over half of the 1 billion Africans will be living in a city or its suburbs by 2025. Just like in the other cities of the world, African cities are struggling with issues such as waste disposal, housing shortages and spatial planning. How could Africa deal with these problems? A number of ideas are presented in the ‘Blueprints of Paradise’ exhibition, which can be seen from 1 April 2011 at the Afrika Museum in Berg en Dal. Together with African Architecture Matters, the Afrika Museum in Berg en Dal organised a competition to let Africans present their visions on the layout and construction of their cities. African architects and designers were asked to produce a blueprint for the Africa of the future. The international jury selected 12 entries to feature in the exhibition. Two of the designs will be on display in a life-sized format, whilst the others will consist of scale drawings, photographs and film. It was striking that most entrants developed solutions for the public space instead of for buildings. The entries recognised the importance of the multi-layered use of public space in Africa as an important driver for future Africa. The three winning designs, including a proposal for an urban park in Kumasi (Ghana), were produced by architects from South Africa, Ghana and Nigeria. They will receive their prizes of € 7,500, € 5,000 and € 2,500 during the exhibition’s official opening ceremony on Saturday 9 April 2011 at 3pm (entry on invitation only). Jury members were: Lesley Lokko (architect, editor, author of the jury report, Johannesburg, South Africa) Femke van Zeijl (journalist and author of books such as Gin-tonic & Cholera, Utrecht, Netherlands), Joe Osae-Addo (architect, Accra, Ghana), Manthia Diawara (writer, film-maker, lecturer at New York University, New York, USA) The exhibition is curated by Berend van der Lans (AAmatters) and Siebe Rossel (Afrika Museum). Exhibition development and design was in the hands of Berend van der Lans in collaboration with the Afrika Museum and Infofilm. ‘Blueprints of Paradise’ can be visited in the Afrika Museum from 1 April to 30 October 2011. See the Afrika Museum website for more details. Debate 8 April 20:00hrs - Rotterdam THE FUTURE OF BUILT AFRICA / AFRICAN STRATEGIES FOR THE NETHERLANDS with N’Goné Fall, Jeo Osae-Addo, Kunle Adeyemi, the prize winners of the competition and moderator Tom Avermaete In the ‘Blueprints of Paradise’ competition, African designers were asked for their visions for the built Africa of the future. The Senegalese architect and art curator N’Goné Fall reflects on their approaches. What potentials do existing economic, cultural and social structures offer for rapidly growing African cities? How can the ‘informal’ African city be integrated into planning strategies? What can such strategies teach us for urban challenges in the Netherlands? During the days prior to the debate, the participants will visit the city of Rotterdam with a specific focus on the last question. Fall’s lecture is followed by a discussion between her and the architects Joe Osae-Addo, Kunle Adeyemi and Jan Konings about what we can learn from this African strategies for urban challenges in the Netherlands. The evening is moderated by Tom Avermaete. N’Goné Fall graduated from the École Spéciale d’Architecture in Paris. She is an independent curator, an art critic and a consultant in cultural engineering. She has been the editorial director of the Paris-based contemporary African art magazine Revue Noire from 1994 to 2001. She edited books on contemporary visual arts and photography in Africa including An Anthology of African Art: The Twentieth Century, Photographers from Kinshasa and Anthology of African and Indian Ocean Photography: a century of African photographers. Fall curated exhibitions in Africa, Europe and USA. She was one of the curators of the African photography biennale in Bamako, Mali, in 2001 and a guest curator at the 2002 Dakar biennale in Senegal. Fall teaches curatorial process, communication strategies and methodology in the master department of cultural industries at the Senghor University in Alexandria, Egypt. She is also a founding member of the Dakar-based collective Gaw-Lab, a platform for research and production in the field of new media and visual arts. She is also Awards Committee member of the Prince Claus Fund. When & Where Friday April 8, 2011 Start: 8.00 pm. Doors open: 7.30 pm Language: English Location: De Dépendance, Schiekade 189 Rotterdam Entrance Fee: €5. Students and Friends of the NAI: €3. Please keep in mind: tickets can only be payed in cash For more info and registration click here Debate 10 April 15:00hrs. - Nijmegen DUTCH ARCHITECTURE THROUGH AFRICAN EYES With Joe Osae - Addo, the prize winners and moderator Farid Tabarki Africa is often associated with poverty, misfortune and problems in the West. The western audience is less known with contemporary and urban Africa. A large part of the African population lives in cities, just like anywhere else in the world. These cities look different than ours, but they are modern and well fit to the living cultures of the inhabitants. Via the competition ‘Blueprints of Paradise’ the Afrika Museum and African Architecture Matters challenged African architects, artists and visionaries to design the future of built Africa. Many of the entries addressed the public space and its multiple use. The debate will explore the possibilities to use African architecture and its solutions as an inspiration source for design of Dutch public space. What are the differences between African and Dutch planning of public space? What can we learn from each other? But foremost: what is the importance of well developed public space? When & Where Sunday April 10, 2011 Start: 15.00 pm. Language: English Location: Villa LUX, Oranjesingel 42, Nijmegen Entrance Fee: €7,50 For more information click here competition entry by Oladayo Oladunjoye, one of the prize winners

Ter gelegenheid van de uitgave van het boek The Low Countries at the Crossroads, Netherlandish Architecture as an Export Product in Early Modern Europe, samengesteld door Koen Ottenheym en Krista de Jonge, wordt er in Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam een studiedag gehouden over de Europese uitstraling van de architectuur uit de Nederlanden in de zestiende en zeventiende eeuw op 9 mei aanstaande. In onze tijd geniet Nederlandse architectuur internationaal veel aanzien. Rem Koolhaas, Ben van Berkel en anderen hebben een sterrenstatus bereikt. Dat bleek niet anders in de 16de en 17de eeuw. Ook Antoni Folkers doet in onze tijd een duit in het zakje en zal tijdens de studiedag verhalen over de projecten die hij sinds het midden van de jaren 80 uitvoert in Oost Afrika. Lees meer over de door de KNOB georganiseerde studiedag en hoe aan te melden via deze link.

For the 125th anniversary of Maputo, African Architecture Matters and the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Maputo, together with the Faculty of Architecture and Physical Planning of the University Eduardo Mondlane of Maputo, the Department of Architecture of the University of Pretoria and the Faculty of Architecture of the Delft University have the honour to announce the international art & architecture exhibition MAPUTOPIA passado-presente-futuro to take place in the Conselho Municipal de Maputo at Praça da Independência. from 30 November until 21 December 2012 opening hours: Monday - Friday: 07:30 - 17:00h Saturday - Sunday: 13:00 - 17:00h ‘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 brings current challenges to its heritage to the fore. Academics and artists meet each other and present a penetrating view on the city. ‘Maputopia’ is a traveling exhibition. From Maputo the exhibition will travel to the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Pretoria and from there to the Netherlands. In the Netherlands the exhibition will be held at the Afrika Museum in Berg en Dal. The exhibition has received support from the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Maputo, the Mondriaan Fund, RoyalHaskoningDHV Mozambique and RoyalHaskoningDHV Netherlands, Standard Bank Maputo and is made possible with full commitment and dedication of the Faculty of Architecture and Physical Planning of the University Eduardo Mondlane of Maputo, the Department of Architecture of the University of Pretoria, the Faculty of Architecture of the Delft University of Technology, African Architecture Matters and the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Maputo. #Maputo

AFFR Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam, Africa in the Picture and African Architecture Matters present Urban Transformations in Africa Sunday 13 October 15h00: Urban Transformations in Africa: Africa Shafted – Ingrid Martens, South Africa, 2011 Jonah – Kibwe Tavares, UK / Tanzania, 2013 discussion with Ingrid Martens, Kibwe Tavares, Lesley Lokko and Berend van der Lans. Sunday 13 October 17h00: Jerusalema – Ralph Ziman, South Africa, 2010 (Screenshot Africa Shafted) On Thursday 10 October, the 7th edition of the Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam will take off in film theatre LantarenVenster in Rotterdam. On Sunday 13 October, AFFR is programming, together with the Amsterdam based Africa in the Picture film festival and African Architecture Matters, a series of films about current developments in African cities: Urban Transformations in Africa. Africa Shafted is a revealing portrait of the inhabitants of Ponte Tower, the tallest building in the notorious district Hillbrow, Johannesburg. While standing in the elevator, they talk openly about their lives as African immigrants in South Africa. Jonah is an amazing animation film in which two youngsters in Zanzibar inadvertently photograph a gigantic fish, turning their town into a big tourist attraction. Jerusalema is a spectacular film based on the true life story of Lucky Kunene, who took over all the real estate in Hillbrow, Johannesburg in the nineties. (Screenshot Jonah) Directors Ingrid Martens and Kibwe Tavares will attend the screening. With the Ghaniain-English writer and architect Lesley Lokko and Berend van der Lans, co-founder of African Architecture Matters and AITP board member, they will discuss the consequences of migration, informal economy and self-regulation for the African city and the way in which film throws light on these themes. program Urban Transformations in Africa AFFR2013 Films and discussion in English; please buy your tickets online at www.affr.nl #Urban

Read about the latest news and activities of African Architecture Matters in the newsletter via http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=a985ccc339a56cccb87d5c9a5&id=dedadaa6da&e=7d3fe8663b. There is news on African Perspectives 2011, the exhibitions Learning from Casablanca and Stars of Dar as well as the announcement of lectures / debates at the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture. Happy reading!

Ng'ambo: this is what we want! On 8 and 9 February, the TOS research team is organising an event in the Kisiwandui and Kisimamajongoo neighbourhoods in Ng'ambo, to conclude the process of research on assets and values of the area, taking place in the recent months. Th inhabitants of the area are consulted on their visions for the future of the this part of the buffer zone of the ‘Stone Town of Zanzibar’ World Heritage Site. The outcomes will form the basis of a number of tools for a heritage-based regeneration proposal. You can follow the event via www.facebook.com/ngambotuitakayo. An expert workshop and stakeholders conference later in the week will take stock of the results reached and the steps forward will be discussed. Together with the Department of Urban and Rural Planning of the Government of Zanzibar, UNESCO, City of Amsterdam and Stadsherstel Amsterdam NV, AAmatters has been involved from the conception. Background The UNESCO Recommendation on Historic Urban Landscapes, adopted in 2011, proposes a comprehensive approach to urban regeneration, which addresses the need to better integrate and frame urban heritage conservation strategies within the larger goals of overall sustainable development, in order to support public and private actions aimed at preserving and enhancing the quality of the human environment. It suggests a landscape approach for identifying, conserving and managing historic areas within their broader urban contexts, by considering the interrelationships of their physical forms, their spatial organization and connection, their natural features and settings, and their social, cultural and economic values. Zanzibar has been one of the cities with early exposure to HUL, cooperating with UNESCO in the development of the HUL approach and hosting two international expert workshops in 2009 and 2011. The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar has since then been keen to implement the HUL approach. The project Ng’ambo | The Other Side | Heritage-Based Urban Regeneration has been established in 2013 through common efforts of UNESCO, the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar and a number of other partners. The project aims at putting the HUL approach to practice and create a learning exercise for Zanzibar and the HUL network of cities. A pilot area has been selected to demonstrate and adapt the HUL approach to the situation of Zanzibar and East Africa. The area chosen is located in Ng’ambo, the buffer zone of Stone Town World Heritage property. It includes a variety of buildings and public spaces that is part of the Kisimamajongoo and Kisiwandui neighbourhoods and is bordering Michenzani. The process of desktop, archival and field research, as well as community interviews, has started in December 2013 and will culminate in the community-based visioning event on 8 and 9 February 2014. During this event, the research output will be exhibited and presented. Participatory exercises will be conducted to jointly develop visions on how to conserve, regenerate and develop the area based on its economic, cultural (physical and intangible), social and natural values, characteristics and assets. An International Expert Workshop, inclusive a Stakeholders Conference, is planned right after the visioning event, to evaluate the preceding phases and to develop recommendations for the next steps in the project. The visions will serve as the basis and be translated into the following policy and planning tools: Recommendations for the buffer zone of the ‘Stone Town of Zanzibar’ World Heritage Site in the Zanzibar Master Plan that is currently developed Roadmap for housing models in the buffer zone Ideas for socio-economic development in Ng’ambo Concrete results will be developed in the form of: A design and roadmap for realisation for an open space in Kisiwandui A proposal to Hifadhi Zanzibar (a company that is locally being established following the model of Stadsherstel Amsterdam) to include a historic building in their portfolio for restoration and use for a mix of private and public functions Feedback will be given to contribute to the further development of the UNESCO HUL approach: Recommendations on community involvement Recommendations on desktop, archive and field research Recommendations on how to put the HUL approach into practice Currently, in a parallel initiative by Department of Urban and Rural Planning DoURP, the Master Plan of the Zanzibar Town is being prepared. The Department has invited both teams to exchange and cooperate. As part of the Master Plan, DoURP wishes to create pilot sites where the integration of culture and heritage can be approached and tested as one key step towards implementing the HUL approach in upgrading N’gambo area as a part of Government’s objective to provide affordable and accessible housing to all. Donors The project’s first phase has been funded by the Government of Zanzibar and the Netherlands Fund-in-Trust of UNESCO. It is further supported by the Zanzibar Municipal Council (ZMC), Zanzibar Social Security Fund (ZSSF), the Swiss Association of Landscape Architects (SBLA), the City of Amsterdam and Stadsherstel Amsterdam NV. #Unesco #Zanzibar #HistoricUrbanLandscape

Sankofa Garden City Park van prijswinnaar Kobina Banning Inventief, dynamisch en creatief, zo kun je veel Afrikaanse stadsbewoners karakteriseren. Middels 12 visies op de gebouwde toekomst van Afrika, ontwikkeld door Afrikaanse ontwerpers en kunstenaars, laat Blueprints of Paradise zien dat Afrika meer is dan wildparken, sloppenwijken, conflicten en natuurrampen. Sommige van de ontwikkelde ideeën zouden wel eens goed van pas kunnen komen in onze eigen steden en dorpen. Op 17 juli en 11 september zal Berend van der Lans, directeur van African Architecture Matters en gastconservator van de tentoonstelling Blueprints of Paradise, een lezing houden voor Museumjaarkaarthouders in het Afrika Museum. Hij zal vertellen over de ideeën en mensen achter de inzendingen en de Afrikaanse steden waarvoor de plannen bedacht zijn. Voor kinderen is een parallelprogramma ontwikkeld. De lezingen starten om 14hr. Zie voor meer informatie en registratiewww.afrikamuseum.nl of mail info@afrikamuseum.nl.