Archined, in collaboration with Theo Deutinger and Christopher Clarkson of The Department, presents The Hearing – Architecture & Ethics: Critical Statements for the Future. Spatial design is intrinsically an activity with social and, equally often, political impact. What are the effects of particular (design) choices on society, the earth and the climate? In what way do architects relate to the world and to what extent are they held accountable to it?

With the Ministry of Ethics, The Department has laid the administrative basis for a comprehensive governmental checklist with which to measure designers along an ethical yardstick. Do they meet the ethical standards of today? Or should they be removed from the Architects Register? The speakers take the checklist as the starting point for critically advising the ministry and, as befits a good debate, the audience can join in. The evening will be moderated by JaapJan Berg.

The Hearing is the closing event of the long-term and multifaceted project The Persistence of Questioning: Critical reflections for the future, on architecture and more.

The speakers:

• Theo Deutinger, architect, writer and designer of sociocultural studies at The Department. This evening he is the state secretary of the Ministry of Ethics.

• Nyasha Harper-Michon, archtivist, architect, business developer, educator, speaker, writer.

• Mark Minkjan is a city geographer, editor at Failed Architecture and winner of the Geert Bekaert Prize for Architecture Criticism. He is currently attached to the Rotterdam Academy of Architecture, where he is organizing discussions about the working culture in design offices and in design education.

• Sanne Nouws, director and artistic leader of the (youth) theatre company House of Nouws, is a hands-on expert in the area of official checklists and assessment systems related to ethics in the theatre.

• Bianca Seekles, chair of the board of ERA Contour, developer and construction of inner-city projects, where she works with intelligence and heart with partners and residents to create sustainable neighbourhoods.

• Gus Tielens, partner and founder of KorthTielens Architects. They recently won the Zuiderkerk Prize for the best residential building in Amsterdam for their Spaarndammerhart project, and the Abe Bonnema Prize, an award to stimulate the quality of architecture in the Netherlands.

• Thijs de Zeeuw is a landscape architect and nature optimist. He designs for both people and animals on the basis of the ecology of the place. He designed the elephant enclosure at ARTIS and is currently working on the zoo of the future.

Practical details:

Location: Het Nieuwe Instituut - The Podium (HNI rooftop)

Date: 10 June, doors open at 17:00

Time: Programme from 17:30 to 19:30

Language: English/Dutch.

Tickets include a printed edition of the cahier The Persistence of Questioning (Nl or Eng), which centres on the question: What is the state of architecture culture? With contributions from: Sergio Figueiredo, Sereh Mandias, Sophie Czich, Gideon Boie and Rob Ritzen.