PODIUM
Cercle Meudon
Cercle Meudon, Centre of Architecture Meudon Kring Assen,
is an artist based initiative from within the DeFKa Department.
As a platform for discussions on matters of art, architecture
and culture in related terms it is inspired by the Dutch visual
artist and DADA-poet Van Doesburg. His atelierproject in Meudon,
France, which served as an international meetingplace for
artists of any discipline, lend its name to this new Centre
that started november 2004. (*)
Cercle Meudon invites artists, architects, art theorists and
other people who have affinity with art and architecture to
join in a debate on the theme of ‘cultural infrastructure
in regional perspective’. We take as an example the
region Assen-Groningen, which is already being typecasted
as an ‘urban network’. The Duth Government in
its recent report, called the ‘Nota Ruimte’, has
defined a few more of these networkareas, for instance the
region Hengelo-Enschede and Arnhem-Nijmegen. Such an area
has a potential of economic growth and offers excellent opportunity
to concentrate industrial and cultural facilities (RED) so
as to spare ecological fragile countryside and recreational
domain (GREEN). Of course there is also a link possible with
international examples of twin-city dynamics.
About this theme there are lots of interesting approaches
to consider, but all are subject to one important political
issue and that is: local and regional authorities are given
more decisive power in accomodating structures according to
the directives of national government. Not everyone is equally
happy with this. Aäron Betsky, director of the Nai, National
Architectiural Institute, says that especially in the Netherlands
cityplanning and landscapedesign should be induced central.
It seemes that this opinion is shared by Adriaan Geuze, curator
of the second International Architecture Biënnale in
Rotterdam, who signals a lack of talent in governmental behavior
concerning concepts of Space (Ruimte).
On the regional level much debate is concerned with industrial,
transportational and private (land)scapes. Cercle Meudon wants
to add to this a more cultural integrated overall view that
underlines the strategic distribution within this particular
region of (the production of) knowledge, art and civic institutions
as wel the architectonical gestalt in which these domains
wil show themselves. That means for instance that all levels
of education including university and academic schooling as
well as research in the arts and media should be involved.
Because of the advance of extra local and regional responsibilities
in these matters, the Cercle will support a public meeting
of minds, organized by DeFKa on the 9th of June 2005 during
a manifestation and exhibition entitled NOORDSTAD. For more
information and response please contact us.
(*)
Cercle Meudon concentrates on the
theoretical aspects in architecture related themata.
DeFKa’s design office DeDO could take up these theoretical
apects to complement them as an active, executive, partner
in practice.

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