this time for a conference titled 'what design can do'- an experiment in a multidisciplinary and international conversation regarding the role of design in a changing world. i was part of a two strong India contingent- the other being m p ranjan from nid. then there were people from china, brazil, america, uk, italy and of course the netherlands. i guess the intention was to be able ot critique current design practices and propose something new. the range was staggering- from community work in sao paolo, to advertising photography, to work that straddled art and design. fun. the conference was held in this fairly ostentatious opera house like theater in the heart of the city. we lived in an art deco hotel right next to the theatre and went dinner parties every night where you meet all these terribly interesting people.. whats not to like about the city?
walking the streets of amsterdam is like being lost within a crystal. every surface glitters with labyrinthine beauty. the perfect cobbled streets, the quirky and eccentric brick houses, the bridges leaping over glittering water and the canals. every street looks similar- but not quite. you can be lost within this city and never find your way out. its dizzying. i spent most of my free time wandering the lanes of the city but on the first day, i did manage to get out of the city for a day and go to delft where i met revathi and shikha, and walked the tiny town from the starchitecture of the tu delft library to the massive square of the church.
delft: shikha
boat ride to the dinner on the second night
richard welcomes
the trip to the Zuiderzee Museum in Enkhuizen
morning breakfast
dipti and jorn
school of architecture _ amsterdam
flower market
party 1
street concert
richard thanks
late night party
delft: shikha's hostel
delft: shikha
delft: revathi
delft
amsterdam: first night
the hotel
the rihanna signature in the hotel lobby encased in glass
the venue
the trip to the Zuiderzee Museum in Enkhuizen
