Letters to the Mayor

Letters to the Mayor – The New Institute, Rotterdam

The idea for the design of this exhibition arose from the fact that every letter is linked to a voice. The many voices of these letters do not only concern architects, but the public as well: they are letters about the city and its residents.

The design of the exhibition responds to this. All letters were recorded by audio curator Arif Kornweitz. The architect’s desk is designed as a long table where the audience can sit to listen to the recorded voices at ease. The long benches at the table are an invitation to the citizen, who must always be able to join a discussion about the developments of the city.

The mayor’s office is opposite and holds an archive where all the letters are stacked and available for viewing or for tearing on the spot. Every visitor can put together their own collection of letters and put them in a file folder to take with them.

The space around the two desks has been deliberately kept empty, no images have been used. The exhibition revolves around the content.