The University of Bamberg approached Werkplaats Erfgoed for advice on how conservation is approached and understood in a city that identifies itself with innovation, forward-thinking: Rotterdam. Is there tension, conflict, contradiction? How inclusive are processes of heritage-making?
The faculty of Heritage Sciences is based in the Institut für Archäologie, Denkmalkunde und Kunstgeschichte (IADK), at the Otto-Friedrich University of Bamberg. For their five-day visit to Rotterdam, they were interested in the question how conservation itself might be influenced by the character of Rotterdam. Is there an innovative, non-traditional approach to conservation that distinguishes itself from conservation-practices in other cities?
Heritage-making
Teun joined for a tour with a representative of the Klusgebouwen-project that offers matchmaking for potential new owners of derelict buildings. The visit ended with a debate and tour through Katendrecht, where the students, teaching staff and professor learned how the process of gentrification is counterbalanced by local initiatives. The Verhalenhuis Belvedere plays a central role in embracing inclusive ways of heritage-making.
plan of Katendrecht in 1933
