Kas Houthuijs is a tutor of the Living Station. Kas will be working on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and he will further develop the curriculum to build a sustainable future for all living forms.
Kas Houthuijs has a background in neurobiology and biomedical sciences, but his real interest is in the interdisciplinary field of art and ecology. Real innovation happens where the visions of different fields can question and enhance each other.
He also works for the Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht, where he teaches BioLab for Designers as a course and at the Waag Future Lab in Amsterdam, where he teaches the BioHack Academy.
He believes that artists and designers have great responsibility in the sustainability transition, and he tries to aid this goal through education.
If you are interested in knowing more, you want to discuss your bio-project or want to give some insights, you are very welcome to contact him.
The rooftop has been transformed through the recent years into a garden but it is more than that! Its aim is to become a green oasis where we collaborate to do gardening, offer a place for well-being and an opportunity to connect with ‘nature’.
The roof was initiated by the SPIN collective (students WdKA who run the space) with the Living Station. During the academic year 2022/23, this student collective organized events, which are related to Pagan Festivities. These Festivities aim to activate, build up, grow, care, come together and learn for and with the Rooftop Garden. Pagan festivities are closely linked to cycles of nature and human attunement to the seasons and the earth.
Mabon(September 29nd)
The 22nd of September marks the day of the autumn equinox when day and night have the same length. Mabon announces the beginning of autumn, it is a moment of balance between night and day and might be the perfect moment to observe the plants that survived the warm summer and reflect on the past activities from the Rooftop Garden. The workshops will be centered around the embodied experience of space by observing and listening.
Paper Making Workshop
Together with the Publication Station the Rooftop Garden hosted a paper-making workshop at the rooftop.
Making paper gives a second life to many materials, it can be leftover paper, textiles, dry plants
The aim was to invite students to reflect on their positionally as art students.
The droughts this summer created a very hostile environment for the plants, therefore to keep this part of the garden’s history alive we decided to make paper from the dead plants and recycled paper from the trash bunker.
Samhain (November 4th)
From October 31st autumn storms may tear through city streets, bringing majestic trees to their knees, traffic to a standstill, damaged buildings and causing long-lasting change to small urban pockets of woodland. It can appear to be devastating but of course, out of change, new things can emerge. In Autumn we will be getting ready for the cold and long winter. It is the perfect time to prepare for hibernation! We propose to spend time together learning from what is dead and hidden.
Yuletide
Yuletide takes place around the longest night of the year; it is a dark moment, but from then on the world will brighten up again and the days will become longer. The perfect moment to think about hibernation, rest, and sleep.
Imbolc
1st of February, about halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. ‘Imbolc’ meaning ‘in the belly’ refers to the pregnancy of ewes at this time of year. This Sabbath announces spring, it is associated with purification, fruitfulness and the power of the light, of the sun. The earth is slowly awakening. We want to talk about the power of life and the ownership of the belly, Imbolc.
Ostara
Ostara occurs when Earth’s equator is directly in line with the Sun, causing the hours of light and darkness to be equal. It is the time of the year when we put the first seedlings in the ground. Our bodies are slowly awakening and we are starting to open up and connect with our surroundings. Commoning, coming together, exchanging. New projects are starting, new ideas are being planted, and new groups are being formed.
Beltane
It is a time to share food, welcome tree branches into the home and gather herbs with friends. It is associated with fertility. By now plants seem to be growing by the minute, many trees are in blossom, butterflies have begun to return and a wealth of herbs are in their prime.
Midsummer (June 21st)
Many rites of the Midsummer holiday are connected with water, fertility and auto-purification. The traditions include singing songs and dancing until the sun sets, telling tales, greeting the rising midsummer sun and washing the face with a morning dew and floating flower wreaths on the water.
The field lab is an educational program within the Living Station, which takes place at a specific location in Rotterdam or outside the Netherlands. The specific context itself, the experts connected to this location and the stakeholders at hand provide specific input regarding a certain topic. Through experimentation and research on-site; dealing with the topic ‘matter’ at hand, students get to know the challenges of this ‘local’ setting. This hybrid and cross-pollinating approach will allow all current and future stakeholders to connect remotely and reflect on common issues both intimately and globally.
The Living Station Lab is the research laboratory connected to the stations within the Willem de Kooning Academy. In the Lab, which is located at Wijnhaven 01.118, we are questioning practices within arts and design. At the core of our activities, we are investigating how to make and collaborate with ‘living’ and biological systems. The intersection of art, design, and biology provides a fertile ground for creative exploration and critical reflection on the relationship between humans, nature and technology. These interdisciplinary fields emerged in the mid-20th century and continue to evolve and expand.
Students get introduced to collaborating with living ecosystems and get acquainted with topics regarding:
biomimicry – our post on this topic HERE and more references in our archive
The Living Station Lab is a learning environment with facilities and technologies to investigate and experiment with different microorganisms. We have microscopes, a sterile Bio cabinet, incubators, an autoclave and all the materials to work safely in the lab. We also have books to be consulted in our space.
Station Skills
“Welcome to the Living Station” is a requirement when you want to work by yourself in the lab. These Station Skills teach you the basics of how to work with micro-organisms. Have a look at the other Stations Skills we offer.
Individual consultation
If you are wondering about what can be done in our lab, you can have a look at projects that have been done there by students.
You are welcome to visit us and share your project with us. We can facilitate and help you.
