Barbara Luns

Director at Architectuur Instituut Rotterdam | The Netherlands

Barbara Luns is an architect and director of the Architecture Institute (AIR) of Rotterdam. The city’s vision for ‘architecture for all citizens’ has become an important influence in her work, not least due to her forging new people-centric design by collaborating and connecting reciprocally with both Rotterdam’s residents and other professionals – such as the network of Dutch architecture institutions that form the Coordination Local Architecture initiatives foundation (CoLA), of which Barbara is a board member. In her work, Barbara incorporates extensive knowledge from the many housing projects and public buildings she’s worked on, which also informs her position on the core team of Platform Woonopgave, which researches alternative ways of looking at the housing crisis. The AIR initiates, organises, and coordinates substantive programmes such as debate and lecture series, workshops, expert meetings, city labs, cultural education, talent programmes, design competitions, conferences, and festivals such as the Citymakersconference and the Rotterdam Architecture Month. It also addresses the city’s spatial issues and contributes to Rotterdam's architecture policy by connecting local practices with international issues on climate change, energy transition, and mobility. Design, Barbera believes design is the instrument needed to create discussion and solution.