Opinion

Look back for a while; then look forward with a smile

At the time of the fire, Daan de Leeuw was in Istanbul. At the very moment the north wing of the faculty building was collapsing, De Leeuw was probably being thrown onto a Hamam marble slab by a Turkish giant for the start of a traditional massage.

The photos and videos that reached me that evening via Internet left me amazed and confused. History was burning. My first thoughts were with the people from the Architectural Collections department, who I had interviewed a couple of weeks ago for B-Nieuws. All their hard work for nothing! Fortunately, the firemen saved a large part of the collection. My thoughts were with the dean, Wytze Patijn…poor Wytze, with all his plans and achievements for making our building better. But to my surprise I saw a dean today who was as positive, decisive and at ease as ever.

Today, two days after the fire, was a special day. A day for reflection and looking forward. When I arrived at the TU this morning I saw a lot of ‘Bouko’s’ wandering around the campus. BK nomads. Suddenly everyone was greeting each other. Informal settlements popped up everywhere, and in the end, everyone – architect or urbanist, dean or student – worked together on the same spot. The slums of BK. Of course this fire is a disaster for all of us, in particular for the people who lost a large part of their work. But there are also possibilities. The coming weeks will be weird, but may create unexpected opportunities. A more informal bond between teachers and students for instance, and a stronger bond between different sections of the faculty. Will there finally be an ‘ontschotting’ of the faculty now that everyone is out in the open? I believe that in the end, Bouwkunde can be stronger and more fruitful because of this fire, just as the large grasslands of the Serengeti need fire for new life. And their will be a new building of course. And a competition. To design your own faculty is maybe the greatest challenge for any student of architecture, and therefore this can be used to attract prospective students who are now doubting whether to come to Delft because of what happened. Of course it gives possibilities for graduation projects as well.

But let us not forget the sad stories and to support the people who need it. Please take time to think about the PhD student who lost four years of work. Think about students graduating without their final model next week. Think about all the faculty members and their personal libraries, some of them built up over a period of 30 years. Pray for the library. Think back on the building and its doubtful character. Think back on the place of the place. Enjoy the fact that the elevators are gone. Be sad that it wasn’t the iweb pavilion instead of BK. Laugh about the canteen being gone. Curse the entrance for one last time. Praise the model hall and remember how it smelled. Thank Bakema. Never forget, look back for a while, and then when you’re ready, move forward with a smile.

Daan de Leeuw is an MSc student at the Faculty of Architecture and editor of the faculty magazine B-nieuws. He wrote this piece for the website of B-nieuws.

Informal settlements popped up everywhere, and in the end, everyone – architect or urbanist, dean or student – worked together on the same spot. (Photo: Hans Stakelbeek/FMAX)

The photos and videos that reached me that evening via Internet left me amazed and confused. History was burning. My first thoughts were with the people from the Architectural Collections department, who I had interviewed a couple of weeks ago for B-Nieuws. All their hard work for nothing! Fortunately, the firemen saved a large part of the collection. My thoughts were with the dean, Wytze Patijn…poor Wytze, with all his plans and achievements for making our building better. But to my surprise I saw a dean today who was as positive, decisive and at ease as ever.

Today, two days after the fire, was a special day. A day for reflection and looking forward. When I arrived at the TU this morning I saw a lot of ‘Bouko’s’ wandering around the campus. BK nomads. Suddenly everyone was greeting each other. Informal settlements popped up everywhere, and in the end, everyone – architect or urbanist, dean or student – worked together on the same spot. The slums of BK. Of course this fire is a disaster for all of us, in particular for the people who lost a large part of their work. But there are also possibilities. The coming weeks will be weird, but may create unexpected opportunities. A more informal bond between teachers and students for instance, and a stronger bond between different sections of the faculty. Will there finally be an ‘ontschotting’ of the faculty now that everyone is out in the open? I believe that in the end, Bouwkunde can be stronger and more fruitful because of this fire, just as the large grasslands of the Serengeti need fire for new life. And their will be a new building of course. And a competition. To design your own faculty is maybe the greatest challenge for any student of architecture, and therefore this can be used to attract prospective students who are now doubting whether to come to Delft because of what happened. Of course it gives possibilities for graduation projects as well.

But let us not forget the sad stories and to support the people who need it. Please take time to think about the PhD student who lost four years of work. Think about students graduating without their final model next week. Think about all the faculty members and their personal libraries, some of them built up over a period of 30 years. Pray for the library. Think back on the building and its doubtful character. Think back on the place of the place. Enjoy the fact that the elevators are gone. Be sad that it wasn’t the iweb pavilion instead of BK. Laugh about the canteen being gone. Curse the entrance for one last time. Praise the model hall and remember how it smelled. Thank Bakema. Never forget, look back for a while, and then when you’re ready, move forward with a smile.

Daan de Leeuw is an MSc student at the Faculty of Architecture and editor of the faculty magazine B-nieuws. He wrote this piece for the website of B-nieuws.

Informal settlements popped up everywhere, and in the end, everyone – architect or urbanist, dean or student – worked together on the same spot. (Photo: Hans Stakelbeek/FMAX)

Editor Redactie

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