Hey Everyone!

Today we headed off to another location of the Dutch university, InHolland Rotterdam. To my surprise, we didn’t begin the campus visit with a lecture, but rather a walking tour through the ever-evolving harbor area of Rotterdam. Our faculty guides taught us about the history of the area, and enlightened us on the current architectural climate of the area, and what the plans for the region are. We learned that 85% of Rotterdam was destroyed by bombings and general war destruction in World War II. This devastation means the city is relatively new, and many historical buildings do not exist anymore. Furthermore, the destruction of the city meant that the region could rebuild progressively and sustainably to reflect new-age ideals. The reconstruction means that the city is half new-style architecture and half preservation. Also, we learned that Rotterdam embraces a less rigid view of city planning, and embraces visual architecture heavily. On the historical front, we saw a storage port house decked out with green shutters, that held cargo from Asian trading countries. We saw the New York Hotel, which survived the bombings as the Germans used it as a headquarters. This is where, before the wars, people could take a ship to America. Throughout the city, I have seen red lights sporadically placed on sidewalks, and I just assumed it was a creative decision. However, today we learned that the city placed the red lights on each place a bomb was dropped during the wars. This was very interesting to learn and was not what I assumed at all. Additionally, our guide talked about “top-down” infrastructure and initiates that plague the region. This is when the interest of stakeholders and profit is placed more important than the longevity of the existing community and the existing cultural region. A way to combat this is through “placemaking,” which is the practice of making a place somewhere people want to be. This can be through developing people-friendly infrastructure and including green spaces. Regarding the green spaces throughout the city, I found it interesting to find out one of the reasons behind the greenery. The grass and plants act on permeable surfaces that intake the rain, as opposed to concrete which just promotes polluted runoff water. These permeable surfaces guide water back into water sources and help filter out contaminants. On the topic of sustainability, Rotterdam has a green initiative called Green Agenda 2030, which seeks to end poverty, and hunger, and ensure lasting protection of the planet. On the tour, we saw factories that were once industrial and have been reused into residential housing. There were floating Airbnb houses on the waterways, which is an interesting take on solving the housing crisis and using the waterways to our advantage. We also learned that the city is planning on allocating green spaces throughout the area for 8 new public parks, one of which is close to the Rotterdam InHolland campus. As we walked back to the campus building, we saw dunes of sand along the banks of the waterway. Our guide told us the city is building a city beachfront, but he is unsure of the future success of this project. Lastly, he ended the tour by telling us about the development of 5 new buildings that will be built in front of the InHolland building, which will block their views, and lessen the light into the building. However, he ended on a positive note, noting that there is always innovative movement in Rotterdam, and the new building will provide jobs and opportunity.

Once the tour was over, we headed inside and learned about what InHolland Rotterdam had to offer. Like the Delft campus, they place a heavy emphasis on out-of-the-classroom curriculum and hands-on learning experiences. This specific campus houses business, finance, and law. The university is a college of applied science, which directly relates to the heavy emphasis on experiential learning, not just passive learning in lectures. This campus offers the following majors: accounting, finance control, business studies, paralegal studies, safety security, and social legal services. To obtain a degree from InHolland Rotterdam, students must complete a 5-month internship. I was shocked to learn how affordable college is at InHolland. Native students pay about 2000 euros each year, while non-native students pay roughly 7000 euros each year. Also, the workloads are severely different than in the U.S. as students do not have classes every day, and are not expected to be on campus every day. There are no dorms at InHolland, and finding housing is a student’s individual responsibility. The presenter taught us that the students work on solving problems for local companies, and this relates to our theme of “concept to consumer,” as the students work on a project from creation, to following it through to the use by the target consumer.

After our InHolland tour and info session, the group had free time. I decided to break off from the group and head back to Market Hall, the food court and shopping center in downtown Rotterdam. It was very refreshing to walk around solo and experience a new country alone. I think we have been so busy and following such a schedule for the last two weeks, that my brain appreciated time to just “be.” I stopped into the AH, the local grocery store, and got some dinner. The dairy-free yogurt selection is amazing here. While the Netherlands lacks allergy awareness and accommodation in many places, their yogurt and other dairy-free substitutes make up for it. I had a relaxing walk back to the hostel and had a calm night.

See You Tomorrow!