On 11 and 12 November 2026, the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR) presents Shifting Grounds, a two-day international programme bringing together architects, designers, researchers, writers and other spatial and cultural thinkers from the Netherlands and abroad.
Shifting Grounds connects with the international programme of Ammodo Architecture Days. IABR and Ammodo Architecture are collaborating to connect international perspectives with Rotterdam-based practices and projects. The two organisations are coordinating their programmes,enabling a select group of international makers from the 2024 and 2025 Ammodo Architecture Award cohorts and members of the press to extend their stay in the Netherlands and participate in both programmes.
Rotterdam: learning from and with one another
Shifting Grounds is part ofIABR 2026 SYSTEMS OF SUPPORT and brings together around 20 participants,including Dominique Petit-Frère, founder of Limbo Accra (Ghana), Smith Mordak(UK), Noelia Monteiro (Brazil), Phineas Harper (UK), Daliana Suryawinata(Indonesia) and Theodor Reinhardt (NL).
During the two-day programme, participants will visit various projects and design practices across Rotterdam, including West 8 to discuss the Rijnhaven FloatingPark, Danshuis Katendrecht, and Powerhouse Company to learn about the renovation of Rotterdam Central Library.
A teach visit, an international participant will respond from their own experience and expertise. This creates space for conversations about shared public values,material choices and systemic changes needed to make architecture and urban development more equitable.
Public lecture by Dominique Petit-Frère and Benoît Vandenbulcke
On Wednesday 11 November, part of Shifting Grounds will be open to the public.
Dominique Petit-Frère, architect, artist, co-founder of Limbo Accra and recipient of the Ammodo Architecture Award for Social Engagement 2025, will enter into conversation with Benoît Vandenbulcke, architect, partner at AgwA and winner of the 2026 Mies van der Rohe Award.
Together,they will explore how cities change and which values, ideas and interests guide these transformations.
What shared values underpin the way we develop our cities? And what can designers working in different contexts learn from one another through different cultural perspectives?
Practical information
Shifting Grounds: Public Lecture
Wednesday 11 November 2026
16:30–18:00
Piekfabriek, Rotterdam
Free admission
Language: English
Shifting Grounds issupported by the City of Rotterdam and Rotterdam Partners.
For more information, please follow this link.
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