Conference Rethinking Theory, Space and Production

The conference Rethinking Theory, Space and Production: Henri Lefebvre Today (Delft, November 11th–13th, 2008) was a joint engagement of the Chair of Architecture Theory and the Lectureship of Sociology at the Department of Architecture ETH Zurich, in cooperation with the Delft School of Design at the Delft University of Technology and the Jan van Eyck Academie (Maastricht).

Click here for program in PDF format (164k)

Program of the conference which took place at the Faculty of Architecture, Delft University of Technology, November 11 – 13, 2008.

Tuesday, 11 November, Zaal A 17.00 – 17.30Opening
17.00 – 17.05Dean, Welcome Address
17.05 – 17.30 Arie Graafland
Critical Thinking Today
17.30 – 18.15 Keynote: Ákos Moravánszky
The Third Dimension: Projecting Urban Space
18.15 – 19.00 Keynote: Edward Soja
Globalizing Lefebvre: Seeking Spatial Justice and
the Regional Rights to the City
19.00 – 20.00 Screening: Interviews Henri Lefebvre
Introduction Lukasz Stanek

Buffet (Julianalaan)

Wednesday, 12 November, Zaal D

9.00 – 9.30 Introduction: Lukasz Stanek
Lefebvre Today: Three Questions
9.30 – 10.15Keynote: Remi Hess
Lefebvre, Urbanism, and Institutional Analysis
10.15 – 11.00Keynote: Laurent Devisme
Lefebvre and the Question of Centrality
11.30 – 12.15Keynote: Bohdan Jałowiecki
City for Sale: Metropolization in Peripheral Capitalism
12.15 – 13.00Keynote: Christian Schmid
Trouble with Henri: From Theory to Research

13.00 – 14.30Lunch break

14.30 – 16.30PANEL 1: ARCHITECTURE IN AN URBAN SOCIETY
14.30 – 14.55Ljiljana Blagojevic
The Problematic of the ‘New Urban’: The Right to New Belgrade
14.55 – 15.20Nicholas Beech
From ‘Auto-Critique’ to ‘Production’ in the Critique of Everyday Life:
Reading Lefebvre and Constructing History
15.20 – 15.45Dinh Quoc Phuong
Local Production of Spaces and Place Identities:
A Reflection on Hanoi’s Architecture
15.45 – 15.55Discussant: Edward Soja, LSE/ UCLA
15.55 – 16.30Discussion

16.45 – 18.45PANEL 2: URBANISM TODAY: DIFFERENCES AND CONTRADICTIONS
16.45 – 17.10Alfonso Valenzuela Aguilera
Random Urbanism: a Multidimensional Strategy
of Cognitive Mapping in Mexico City
17.10 – 17.35Kanishka Goonewardena
Henri Lefebvre and Los Angeles: Urban Space, Global Capital,
and the Mystified Consciousness of Everyday Life
17.35 – 18.00Greig Charnock & Ramon Ribera-Fumaz
The Production of Competitiveness:
Neoliberal Urbanism and the Right to Difference in Contemporary Barcelona
18.00 – 18.10Discussant: Christian Schmid, ETHZ
18.10 – 18.45Discussion

Thursday, 13 November, Zaal D

09.00 – 09.50Keynote: Jean-Pierre Garnier
The ‘Urban Revolution’ in the Time of Globalization:
Between Denial and Misappropriation 09.50 – 10.40Keynote: Jean-Louis Cohen
Grenoble 1974: Eurocommunism Meets Urbanism

11.00 – 13.00PANEL 3: POLITICS OF URBAN SPACE
11.00 – 11.25Grégory Busquet
Urban Space and Politics:
The Instrumental Space in French ‘politique de la ville’
11.25 – 11.50Ulrich Best
The Debate about Airport Tempelhof and the Struggle for Affect:
Understanding ‘espace vécu’ as a Potential Space of Control
11.50 – 12.15Japhy Wilson
Rural Cities and Caracoles:
The Dialectic of Abstract and Differential Space in Chiapas, Mexico
12.15 – 12.25Discussant: Lukasz Stanek, TU Delft/ JVE
12.25 – 13.00Discussion

13.00 – 14.30Lunch break

14.30 – 16.30PANEL 4: SPATIAL STRUGGLES: ENCLOSURES AND COMMONS
14.30 – 14.55Efra Eizenberg
Politicizing Space: The Production of Community Gardens in New York City
14.55 – 15.20Sharad Chari
Planning, Habitation, Urban Revolt — Lefebvre’s Triad and
Biopolitical Struggle in Past and Present Durban, South Africa
15.20 – 15.45Fraya Frehse
Lefebvre’s Use of Space in the Public Places of
Contemporary Downtown Sâo Paulo
15.45 – 15.55 Discussant: Jean-Louis Cohen, NYU
15.55 – 16.30Discussion
16.45 – 18.15PANEL 5: RHYTHMS OF EVERYDAY LIFE
16.45 – 17.10Anne Vogelpohl
Urban Rhythms — A Rhythm-Analytical Approach
to Contemporary Urban Everyday Life
17.10 – 17.35Sudaryono Sastrosasmito
Engagement of Absolute Space and Abstract Space:
A Case Study of Parangtritis Settlements of Yogyakarta, Indonesia
17.35 – 17.45Discussant: Ákos Moravánszky, ETHZ
17.45 – 18.15Discussion

18.15 – 18.45Conclusions and Outlook
Christian Schmid, Lukasz Stanek

All activities take place in the DSD space, Faculty of Architecture TU Delft, Julianalaan 132-134, 2628 Delft, The Netherlands