Without reservations, DOWN TO EARTH starts from the observation that the climate crisis is a given, and that we are already in over our heads. Can we then still redesign our living environment to ensure a sustainable balance, also with all other life forms?00George Brugmans chose energy transition and water management as levers for design research aimed at transformational real-world change. Drought in the Dutch Delta, rising sea levels, the need to stop using natural gas in our homes ? these are issues for which we urgently must find solutions that can simultaneously be used as leverage for broader change. Brugmans anchors this research methodologically in the history of the IABR, which in the past years has explored how, as a cultural institution, it could design for results in times of climate crisis.00DOWN TO EARTH is a visually rich account of an antitypical biennale in times of pandemic, and also ? with essays by George Brugmans and Dirk Sijmons and a dialogue between lecturers and students of the Rotterdam Academy of Architecture and Urban Design? a critical reflection on the position of designers at a time when the anthropogenic climate crisis is forcing humanity into the endgame.

The aim of the 'Room for the River' Programme was to provide more space for the major rivers in the Netherlands as a way of managing the higher water levels in the delta area. In over 30 locations measures were devised and implemented to allow the rivers to flood safely. Landscape architects and engineers worked together to design these measures in such a way that they also improved the quality of the landscape. This richly illustrated book showcases the results of all the projects, while the background and commentary texts illuminate this exemplary and impressive method of how the Dutch deal with climate change and landscape development.

Essays over de politiek getinte rol van ruimtelijk ontwerpers op het regionale schaalniveau.

Artikelen over de toekomst van het Nederlandse landschap.