For our last diner of 2016 were writer-journalist Pieter van Os (NRC) and architect Arna Mačkić (Studio Arna Mackic) guest at restaurant Huson. A very exciting evening with two people who can observe intense, listen carefully and tell wonderful.

Peter is not happy in his home, getting around is his attitude. He was born in Groningen and studied in Leiden, Minneapolis and Barcelona. He was a correspondent for De Groene Amsterdammer in the US and now he as correspondent in Poland for the Dutch newspaper NRC. Peiter's expert on international relations and global financial flows, but he also has knowledge of realist painters from Groningen and Catholic architects in Spain. He connects in his stories on an original way facts, history, social structures and cultural background of the people involved.

Arna Mačkić with her parents, sister and brother fled from Bosnia to the Netherlands. Her personal history influenced tremendously her professional development as an architect. According Arna's architecture and urban design ignores the history of a particular city or place often. In her work she wants to draw attention to the complete story. Therefore she explores forgotten facts, obsolete rituals and hidden sociological conditions. By implementing this in her work the history of the specific location is a fruitful tool for the future.

Pieter as Arna had striking similarities. They deal with social issues in which they connect the past, present and future.


Daan Bakker (Daf-architecten), Jeroen de Willigen (DeZwarteHond), Jasper de Haan (architect) and I invite each month a number of colleagues to eat, drink and discuss about our profession, the city of Rotterdam and related matters.

Floris Cornelisse (HappelCornelisseVerhoeven) and Jan Peter Wingener (WINHOV) came to tell the end of September on their quest for innovation from architecture itself. The evening was not so much about their projects, but they told frankly about the meaning of (rational) architecture in the future.

Floris and Jan Peter are together with Job Floris and Hans van der Heijden the Rats. They do not see themselves as a collective or ideological movement, which binds them is a great fondness for architectural traditions and precedents, the realization process, studying and integrating materiality and thinking about the city and the question of the positioning of the architecture.

Actively seeking a relationship with the construction work as an architect by linking to mediate and translate this world is very brave. Find a new meaning to a tradition deserves much appreciation. For Conceptualism that dominates the architecture in the Netherlands since the nineties it was totally interesting.

Searching for an entirely different relationship to the tradition and execution is very complicated, we noticed this evening. Floris and Jan Peter took us in their thoughts and doubts. This led to a very intense evening.

The architects Jeroen Schipper and Jaakko van 't Spijker were our guest in restaurant Huson end of August. They are both namesake of a private architectural firm, which they perform in the Netherlands. But this evening was dominated by Orange and Culd. By achieving these entities Jeroen and Jaakko seek project aboard.

Jeroen started with Patrick Meijers and Michiel Hofman Orange architects. Jaakko do it together with Huub Juurlink and Cor Geluk outside the Netherlands. Jeroen and Jaakko search emphatically foreign adventure. However, success does not come easily. Make a plan in advance does not make much sense, but if you stay at home, nothing happens at all. To go out and make contact, the ball starts rolling, a strategy pop-up and eventually you will be asked for interesting assignments. Opportunism and random play a role of course they both admit a role.

The stories of Jeroen and Jaakko are really adventurous. Working abroad guarantees bizarre situations and hilarious meetings. Both architects prove that it is possible to be an entrepreneur and to be able to cooperate with colleagues. It's even great fun!

The architects Jan Nauta and Donna van Milligen Bielke where our guests late June in restaurant Huson. They have the same starting point in education, but their relatively young careers and future expectations are different.

Jan and Donna both studied Architecture at the University of Applied Sciences Amsterdam. Jan went to Paris and ended up in London at the AA School of Architecture. He now has its own office in his hometown Rotterdam. Donna has in her hometown Amsterdam followed the academy of architecture and after a career at Arons and Gelauff, Hootsmans and Powerhouse she started her own office in Amsterdam.

Jan combines research (For example a study to Cedric Price) with small construction projects. Academic exercises and the stubborn reality of building complement each other well. In both cases he draws inspiration and provide a good basis for the future. Donna goal was to win the Prix de Rome. They succeeded brilliantly. For her near and far future she had that much ideas.

Daan Bakker (Daf-architecten), Jeroen de Willigen (DeZwarteHond), Jasper de Haan (architect) and I invite each month a number of colleagues to eat, drink and discuss about our profession, the city of Rotterdam and related matters.