Rumour has it – but nobody got it right!
PLDC 2019 will be held in Rotterdam/NL!
Rotterdam is not only The Netherlands’ second largest city, the harbour is by far the largest one in Europe and thus makes Rotterdam an important location for trading, import and export and The Netherlands’ prime industrial, commercial and forward-thinking city.
Rotterdam features a number of fascinating and unique design projects, offering the PLDC organisers some high-class locations to choose from for excursions.
The development of residential buildings and housing estates that were created in the 1920s made Rotterdam a centre of modern architecture. Kiefhoek was one of the first districts in which modern, functional architecture was purposefully designed and realised.
After the bombings in the second world war, Rotterdam was almost completely destroyed. This led the city authorities to decide to create a clearly structured urban planning scheme, defining financial and business districts, the port area, leisure shopping centres and residential areas. The plan was to develop an urban landscape that was modern and ambitious, which attracted many architecture and design offices over the following decades. Architectural institutes such as the Berlage Institute and the NAi (The Dutch Architectural Institute) were based here. The city maintains its young and innovative flair to this day, and is well known for its architecture and sites. It is one of the important cultural hubs in The Netherlands.
Education is a main focus in this Dutch city: Rotterdam has a large number of universities and colleges. The Erasmus University Rotterdam is especially known for its ongoing research in virology and cell biology, and the management faculty is seen as one of the best in Europe. The Hogeschool Rotterdam (Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences) concentrates on engineering, medicine, urban planning and architecture.
When moving around in Rotterdam one gets the feeling there is a constant buzz in the air – of a young, modern and innovative city, more than ready to join the line-up of big metropolitan cities that have hosted PLDC events in the past decade!
