INTERNATIONAL DESIGN SEMINAR

“We feel that we have lost control over how our architecture is experienced by its users,” this year’ s organizers of the International Design Seminar (InDeSem) write. “With InDeSem ’09 we want to bring back the user as a key figure in the design process. We will look beyond the boundaries of conceptual design in our profession and see how other disciplines – such as art, psychology and literature – deal with perception. By searching for new design methods and focusing on multi-sensory perception, the Summerschool ’09 will create an awareness of the role of the user experience in architecture”. Founded in 1962 by Herman Hertzberger, the International Design Seminar embodies a world-renowned tradition of Dutch design theory: the creative examination of societal and social burning issues in close academic discourse with other disciplines and fearless in dealing with unusual methods. In 2013, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the event, Gemma Koppen switches from the role of visiting lecturer to the jury, which every two years awards a prize to a design team of international students. InDeSem’09 will result in the publication ‘A Point of View’ (A question of consideration) with Kopvols’ contribution ‘The Psychological Quantum of Architecture’.