Durability. (How) does it work?
Former Dutch government architect Liesbeth van der Pol lead the discussion together with architect Viktória Mravčáková from the Slovak organization Spolka. They discussed the durability and if the architecture today lead or do not lead to sustainable environment.
Liesbeth van der Pol studied architecture at the Technical University of Delft. In 1995, together with Herman Zeinster, she founded the Dok Architecten studio. Significant realizations include the WKK power plant in Utrecht and the Maritime Museum in Amsterdam. In 2008–2011, she worked as a state architect at the Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning. In the Netherlands, this post is taken very seriously and it is expected that the architect will not only consult on architecture and social housing policy, but will independently support quality architecture. Among other things, Liesbeth van der Pol creates colored drawings of buildings, which determine character and expression. These drawings then also serve as the signature of each project.
The association Spolka is a team of women architects and sociologists from Slovakia, which aims to create sustainable cities for all. They educate about the city in the form of discussion, their own research, artistic and architectural interventions, as well as the education of stakeholders – organizations, officials or ordinary residents or city enthusiasts. Viktória Mravčáková is an architect and urban planner who has a focus on public spaces, the politics of city planning, and the specific spatial phenomena of (post-socialist)cities. She studied architecture in Košice, and at the University of Applied Arts in Prague, as well as Environmental Studies at Kyoto University of Arts and Design. She previously worked at the Office of Public Space at the Institute of Planning and Development in Prague, where she was involved in topics such as art in the public space, and the public spaces of housing estates.
