Master’s students and PhD students of architecture, urbanism
and historic preservation from fifteen countries worldwide participated in a workshop on the theme of the 10th International DOCOMOMO Congress: The Challenge of Change – dealing with the legacy of the Modern Movement. The aim of the workshop was to develop revitalisation strategies for the Coolsingel Strip in Rotterdam and, at the same time, to preserve the local landmarks of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, which symbolise and embody the Modern post-war reconstruction of the devastated inner city. This characteristic western site of a prominent city boulevard, stretching from north to south between Hofplein and Beursplein, is currently
faced with the prospect of radical redevelopment by commercial real estate companies. Hopefully, the workshop would provide the City of Rotterdam with suggestions for an overall multi-disciplinary approach to the redevelopment of the Coolsingel Strip on different
scales.