Architect Floris Alkemade has been appointed professor of Architecture at the Academy of Architecture. He is to be appointed for a period of four years. The Architecture research group he will head will focus on the role, resources and craftsmanship of the architect under the conditions of the so-called ‘tabula scripta’. He will deliver his inaugural lecture on Thursday 13 November.

According to Floris Alkemade (1961) we are working under current conditions on what he refers to as the ‘tabula scripta’, or the ‘marked slate’. A lot of our land is developed, designated, or in use. As a result, the architect is forced to relate more to the existing conditions and to design on the basis of these conditions. This should not be seen as a restriction, but as an opportunity to exploit the potential and the context of the place. Innovation inspired by the conviction that the new will be superior to the old.

Floris Alkemade is a Dutch architect, urban designer and former partner of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA). He gives lectures and teaches classes at universities in the Netherlands, Belgium and France, and has been a guest professor at Ghent University since 2004. Alkemade opened his own office in August 2006 and he is currently director of FAA and FAA/XDGA.

Research groups
With the appointment of Floris Alkemade, the Academy has three research groups, one for each of the Master’s programmes in Architecture, Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture. The research groups give an important impulse to the interaction between the ‘state of the art’ in art practice, and the teaching and research of the Amsterdam School of the Arts (AHK) and the separate faculties. This ties in with the ambition of the AHK to offer high quality education at Master’s level in every discipline.