Inspiring PORTICO Conference in Gent
On 24th November 2010, the PORTICO partners presented the aims of the project and the achievements so far. Venue was the magnificent Music Centre De Bijloke in Gent.
More than 150 people attended this conference. It was a very successful and much appreciated conference.
The opening speeches were held by Deputy Mayor Martine De Regge of Gent and Deputy Mayor Frits Lintmeijer of lead partner Utrecht.
Representatives of the Joint Technical Secretariat explained the North-West European Interreg program. Edsard Kylstra, Head of Cultural History of Utrecht, presented the general project concept.
Donovan Rypkema, President of Heritage Strategies International (USA) contributed with a dazzling illustrated speech on the economic and social return of historic preservation.
Rypkema's insights were shared, commented and illustrated by a presentation from Brian Smith, Secretary General of the European Association of Historic Towns and Regions (UK) and Marnix Pieters, Head of the Department of Research Outreach and Heritage Experience at the Flemish Heritage Institute (Belgium).
During the afternoon there was an opportunity to attend a variety of workshops:
1. Sven Schütte from Köln presented the preliminary results of the Community of Practice: archaeology friendly building and preservation techniques.
2. Eddy Westbroek of Tinker Imagineers, commissioned by Stichting Domplein, demonstrated their method of digital storytelling as a tool for experiencing cultural heritage.
3. Daniël Pletinckx of Visual Dimension, commissioned by Gent to coordinate an expert masterclass on archaeology minded spatial development, presented an overview of the previous sessions in Gent and Utrecht.
The conference culminated in a creative climax with the presentation of the student projects linking to PORTICO investments by the multidisciplinary student teams of the various universities and university colleges from all partner cities. The students showed their plans for the Students' Challenge.
To conclude there was a guided visit to the brand new City Museum STAM.
Reflections of the Conference
We asked different people to give their review of the conference. Some of their reactions are as follows:
“I was particularly charmed by the so-called ‘Student’s Challenge."
Daniël Termont, Mayor of Gent
“This PORTICO conference assembles a multidisciplinary group (…) to make our cities' archaeological heritage visible by developing new methods, techniques and ways of thinking about urban development - above and below ground.”
Lieven Decaluwe, Deputy Mayor for Culture, Tourism & Festivities in Gent
“I want to stress (…) the importance of architects, engineers, constructors and contractors being aware of the present value of historical remainders.”
Martine De Regge, Deputy Mayor for Public Works and Mobility in Gent
"I thought it was an excellent conference - well organized with a good mix of activities enhanced by the beautiful city of Gent. I particularly appreciated the opportunity to understand better the role that archaeology can play in contributing to realizing social and economic benefit within the historic city.
The PORTICO project has the potential to make a difference particularly at this time when the future of cultural heritage is being debated within the EU. Good luck".
Brian Smith, Secretary General of the European Association of Historic Towns and Regions (UK)
“I really enjoyed the conference. I was particularly impressed by the eagerness of professionals from other fields of interest such as education to deal and work with heritage or heritage-related information and realised at the same time that still a lot of work needs to be done to make all this very exciting and multipurpose information more widely available and accessible.”
Marnix Pieters, Head of the Department of Research Outreach and Heritage Experience at the Flemish Heritage Institute (Belgium)
"It was a great experience to exchange ideas first hand with the PORTICO partners whilst learning from some fabulous projects in the host City, including architectural lighting and the City Museum of Gent. We left inspired".
Caroline Blakeley, project lead architect from Donald Insall Associates.
This company was appointed by Cheshire West and Chester Council in January 2010 and are providing architectural services alongside Imagemakers, the Interpretation Designers, to better present Chester City Walls’ 2000 years of history.
"Thank you for a wonderful time in Gent, and offering us a platform to present our ideas. We particularly enjoyed the fantastic speakers, Mr. Rypkema, Dr. Smith and Dr. Pieters, and their insights into protecting, conserving and effectively using cultural heritage.
The City of Gent should also be commended on their excellent new museum, STAM. Furthermore, we found the Students' Challenge presentations both informative and creative. We look forward to hearing about how these projects have evolved at the next conference here in Köln. Many thanks again to all those who made Portico possible, and especially the Gent Conference organizers".
Student team of Köln
Start Students' Challenge
The Students' Challenge is one of the PORTICO actions that take place in all four participating cities. Teams of students recruited at universities and university colleges of the partner cities were asked to develop an innovative business case for the presentation of the (archaeological) heritage and history of their own city.
All (six) multidisciplinary teams presented their project at the PORTICO-conference on 24th November 2010 in Gent. Read more here about their plans.
Gent City Museum STAM thrills its first visitors
In the weekend of 9th and 10th October 2010 STAM – the new Gent City Museum - opened to the public. In the completely renovated 14th century abbey of the Bijloke site, STAM introduces visitors to the story of the city by means of a permanent circuit along a chronological trail of authentic objects and modern multimedia which traces the development and growth of Gent.
Temporary exhibitions in the adjoining 17th century monastery buildings explore the concept of 'urbanity' from different angles. The magnificent buildings on the Bijloke site are worth a visit in their own right. The abbey boasts one of the most beautiful refectories in Western Europe, decorated with fine pre-Van Eyckian wall paintings. The ambulatory, the dormitory, the abbey church, the enclosed garden, the adjacent convent and the ingenious modern entrance add to the beauty of this extraordinary patrimony.
The museum has many highlights, but the interactive historical maps and the multitouch tables appear to be most attractive for both young and old people. Both systems have been realised with support of the European Interreg IV B program through the PORTICO project.
More than 12.000 visitors admired the spectacular presentations during the opening weekend. The visitor’s reactions are unanimously positive, and they all want to come back once more. The museum aims at welcoming more than 80.000 visitors a year.
However, STAM's real showpiece, its raison d'être, is the city itself. So a visit to the city museum is not complete without a visit to Gent! Find here more information.
INTERREG IVB North West Europe Annual Event 2010
'Innovation’ as a theme but also as a characteristic of all NWE-projects was the focus of the two-day European conference on 6 and 7 December in Manchester. A Projects Fair was organized to showcase the most innovative achievements and it served as the meeting point between current and future project leaders and all those interested in the Interreg NWE Programme. The exhibition was one of the key elements of the event and therefore a good opportunity to promote PORTICO.