Jaap Bakema Fellowship 2008/2009 - Call for Applications

Call for applications for the Jaap Bakema Fellowship 2008/2009. Deadline is April 1 2009.

Bakema
J.B. Bakema (1914-1981) was one of the foremost post-war Dutch architects and played an important role as designer, theorist, teacher and populariser of his profession. His wide-ranging interest in the built environment (from chair to city), his firm belief in the social significance of architecture and urban design, and his international orientation make him a fitting inspiration for a fellowship intended for research capable of opening up new perspectives on the design, use and perception of the built environment.

Fellowship
The Jaap Bakema Fellowship is a grant for speculative and exploratory (design) research, at the cutting edge of architecture, technology and society. The fellowship, which is worth 10,000 euros, has been established with a view to contributing to original research relating to these areas, which played such an important role in the work and thought of the architect after whom the fellowship is named, Jaap Bakema. The board of the Jaap Bakema Foundation is made up of Ole Bouman (director of the Netherlands Architecture Instituut, Rotterdam), Hans Ibelings (publisher of A10 new European architecture, Amsterdam), Madeleine Maaskant (founding architect and director of Maaskant en Van Velzen Architecten, Amsterdam) and Frederieke Taylor (owner of the Frederieke Taylor Gallery, New York).

Research
Bakema Fellows are required to use the sum of money attached to the fellowship for research purposes. They are also required to present the results of that research in the Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAi) in Rotterdam and in A10 new European architecture. Fellows may be allowed to stay in John Hejduk’s Wall House in Groningen during the course of their research; they will also be able to make use of the NAi’s research facilities.

Proposals
Proposals for research and third-party nominations for the fellowship will be evaluated by the board of the Jaap Bakema Foundation which awards the fellowships. The main criterion in the evaluation of applications is the likely significance of the research for the development and understanding of contemporary architecture and the built environment. In addition, the proposed research project - whether new or already under way - should be such that it can reasonably be completed within one year.

Applications
Applications, by post or e-mail, should be submitted to the Jaap Bakema Foundation no later than April 1 2009.
The Jaap Bakema Foundation will select a fellow by June 1 2009.

Jaap Bakema Foundation
Postbus 237
3000 AE Rotterdam

[email protected]

http://en.nai.nl/about_the_nai/jbf

“The only acceptable architecture and urban design would consequently be one that gives present-day people the greatest assistance in their search for their own definition of the meaning of life. And because architecture and urban design concern the shaping of space, their significance must be to assist people in their search for a clear conception (understanding) of the infinite (total) space in which they live.”

J.B. Bakema, From chair to city, a tale of people and space (Zeist/Antwerp 1964)