Nieuwe Instituut

#3 North Sea: Have we met? Humans and non humans on common ground

There is unexpected life in places you will probably never see. Under water, on the seabed of the North Sea, and even on deserted oil rigs. How can we support that life? And what happens in other parts of the world when we build wind turbines here at sea?   In the third episode Wineke dives into the North Sea with marine researcher Fiona Middleton and socio-environmental researcher Darko Lagunas. Darko is part of the Embassy of the North Sea: a group of artists, researchers, lawyers and activists that want the North Sea to become a real actor by listening to the political voices of things, plants, animals, microbes and people in and around the North Sea. Fiona Middleton studies marine life everywhere. Wineke talked to her on the phone to discuss her research of a cluster of five decommissioned oil rigs just off the coast of the Netherlands.  

# 2 Climate farmers: Have we met? Humans and non humans on common ground

If you take a closer look at life, you will see that humans are not the only ones on the planet. There are millions of other beings, animals and plants trying to make a living. They have been doing it for a while and perhaps know a thing or two more than we do. 
In the second episode Wineke will visit the climate farmers of Bodemzicht and the artist Julian Abraham “Togar” who was inspired by their mission. Climate farmers Anne van Leeuwen and Ricardo Cano Mateo founded their regenerative farm Bodemzicht in the eastern part of The Netherlands only two years ago. Their aim is to improve conditions for all life, starting by creating a living soil, learning by doing, and sharing the process with others. The artist Togar came to The Netherlands at the beginning of the pandemic from Indonesia, for a residency at the Rijksacademy in Amsterdam. He was inspired by his visit to Bodemzicht to create an audiovisual work using a continuous conversation to stimulate new perspectives on human and non-human interaction. 

# 1 Different perspective: Have we met? Humans and non humans on common ground

Can machines help us to look at life from a different perspective? And what do we need to change in our organizations and companies if we take the interests of other life forms just as serious as our own human ambitions?   On international Earth Day, 22 April 2022, Het Nieuwe Instituut became the world’s first Zoöp. A revolutionary first step to make the interests of non-human life part of its organisational decision-making. In this first episode Wineke explores the Zoöp Het Nieuwe Instituut and meets with Klaas Kuitenbrouwer, researcher and curator at Het Nieuwe Instituut, who was one of the co-founders of the idea of a zoöp. And talks to Theun Karelse, an artist with a broad interest in landscape and technology. Together with the artist Ian Ingram he shares an interest in robots and technology as a way to interact and communicate with nature and from this they started to work on their project Deep Steward. This is an AI programme that develops its own logic for categorising the living environment it observes through a camera.  

Groen in de stad #3: Museumpark

In de derde aflevering van Groen in de stad gaat theater- en radiomaker Naomi Steijger in gesprek met ontwerper Petra Blaisse, conservator Ellen Smit en met gebruikers en omwonenden over de aanleg en geschiedenis van het Rotterdamse Museumpark.
Groen in de stad
Met de invoering van de lockdown – een maatregel ingezet tegen de verspreiding van het coronavirus – zijn wij meer dan ooit bewust van de ontspannende en helende kracht van groen om ons heen. Het idee dat ‘natuur’ een positief effect heeft op onze fysieke en mentale gezondheid is niet nieuw: veel van het (in Nederland) aangelegde groen is gebaseerd op dit idee. In de serie podcasts Groen in de stad, onderdeel van het programma Dwars door het archief, gaan radiomakers op onderzoek uit om antwoord te vinden op de vragen: hoe zijn tuin- en landschapsarchitecten en stedenbouwers door de jaren heen met het concept omgegaan? Wat waren hun opvattingen en hoe kijken we daar nu tegen aan?
Meer informatie: hnix.nl/groen-in-de-stad-3 

A Postscript to New Material

One more round in the studio with the editorial team to wrap up the New Material series.
With a selection of audio fragments from the different episodes: Pablo Tittonell, agronomist, professor of resilient landscapes at Groningen Institute of Evolutionary Life Sciences and professor of organic farming systems at Wageningen University & Research; philosopher Lisa Doeland; marketing manager and spokesman of Attero, Robert Corijn; landscape architect, associate professor at Wageningen University & Research, and co-founder of NRGlab, Sven Stremke; New Material Award nominees and designers Klarenbeek & Dros; and marketing and communication manager at Koppert Cress in Monster, Stijn Baan.
By designers and researchers Toon Koehorst & Jannetje in ’t Veld, programme manager Ellen Zoete, host Maarten Westerveen and editor in chief Wineke van Muiswinkel.
More information via: hnix.nl/new-material

Groen in de stad #2: De Bijlmermeer

In de tweede aflevering van Groen in de stad gaat theater- en radiomaker Naomi Steijger in gesprek met conservator Eline de Graaf en landschapsarchitect en planoloog Han Lörzing over de groenvoorzieningen in de Bijlmer. 
Groen in de stad
Met de invoering van de lockdown – een maatregel ingezet tegen de verspreiding van het coronavirus – zijn wij meer dan ooit bewust van de ontspannende en helende kracht van groen om ons heen. Het idee dat ‘natuur’ een positief effect heeft op onze fysieke en mentale gezondheid is niet nieuw: veel van het (in Nederland) aangelegde groen is gebaseerd op dit idee. In de serie podcasts Groen in de stad, onderdeel van het programma Dwars door het archief, gaan radiomakers op onderzoek uit om antwoord te vinden op de vragen: hoe zijn tuin- en landschapsarchitecten en stedenbouwers door de jaren heen met het concept omgegaan? Wat waren hun opvattingen en hoe kijken we daar nu tegen aan?
Meer informatie: hnix.nl/groen-in-de-stad-2 

New Material #4: Tech

Technology has a huge influence on the way we live and work. Robots are integrated into production lines, and artificial intelligence plays a vital role in our daily lives. As a major force of constant innovation, technology is a fruitful playground for curious designers exploring new manufacturing methods.
We pay a visit to 247 Tailor Steel B.V., based in the eastern Dutch village of Varsseveld, and speak to Frank Geelen, chief operating officer. We hear from New Material Award nominees Pip Atkinson, who works at Studio Dirk Vander Kooij, and Hester van Dijk of Overtreders W. For the wider context to this tech episode, we talk to Ap Verheggen, artist inventor, and Peter Paul Verbeek, professor of philosophy of technology and ethics at the University of Twente.
More information: hnix.nl/new-material

New Material #3: Crops

Growing crops means working with living materials, which tell us what they need. We visit the most innovative and futuristic greenhouses of Westland, the horticultural region between The Hague and Rotterdam, and reflect on the experience of the continuous human interaction with the soil. We are at the dawn of a new era, in which seaweed and mycelium will shape our ways of thinking and producing.
We meet Stijn Baan, marketing and communication manager at Koppert Cress, Monster. We also hear from Pablo Tittonell, agronomist, professor of resilient landscapes at Groningen Institute of Evolutionary Life Sciences and professor of organic farming systems at Wageningen University & Research, and from New Material Award nominees Maurizio Montalti, and Maartje Dros and Erik Klarenbeek of Klarenbeek & Dros.
More information: hnix.nl/new-material

New Material #2: Power

The rapid overhaul of the landscape of the port of Eemshaven, in the far north of the Netherlands, perfectly conveys how our accelerating need for energy is creating a new reality. It shows the effects of the massive energy transition taking place in Western societies. The scale and complexity of this transformation leads (new) material designers to very surprising alternative strategies and unexpected decisions. 
 
We talk to Cas König, CEO of Groningen Seaports NV in Eemshaven, and Sven Stremke, landscape architect, associate professor at Wageningen University & Research, and co-founder of NRGlab. Artist, social designer and researcher Debra Solomon shares her research. We also hear from two New Material Award nominees, who explain their practices: solar designer Marjan van Aubel, and designer and body-mind therapist Judith Zeeman.
 
Find out more: hnix.nl/new-material

New Material #1: Waste

Why not start at the end, the place where products and materials land when they are no longer needed? The Attero waste facility in the village of Wijster in the northeast of the Netherlands provides the backdrop for a discussion on whether our trash is a goldmine full of potential, a source of new materials, or a curse and the inevitable consequence of an untenably wasteful system.
 
Participants in the conversation are designer Daria Biryukova; marketing manager and spokesman of Attero, Robert Corijn; philosopher Lisa Doeland; designer and founder of StoneCycling, Tom van Soest; and designer Basse Stittgen. 
 
hnix.nl/new-material