Due to all design competitions and technological developments, architects have become more and more obsessed with the image. This undermines the way we judge architecture, as architecture becomes a part of media. Creating highly finished images seems to have become the goal rather than the means, and designing for the users seems to be pushed into the background. 
But should architecture not be designed, proceeding from the experience it creates for its users?

With indesem ‘09 we want to bring back the user as a key figure in the design process. We will look beyond the borders of the conceptual design in our profession, and see how other disciplines - such as art, psychology and literature - deal with the human perception. 
By searching for new design methods with the main focus on multi-sensory perception, indesem ‘09 will create awareness on the role of the users experience of architecture. 
International Design Seminar, shortly indesem, is held every two years at the faculty of Architecture of the TU Delft, the Netherlands. It consists of a workshop, during a week for 80 international students, combined with lectures, excursions, exhibitions, debates, documentaries and more. Since its founding in 1962, indesem has had the honor of hosting internationally acclaimed architects and theorists, such as Aldo van Eijck, Adriaan Geuze, Jean Nouvel, Rem Koolhaas, Michael Speaks and Ben van Berkel. In the past, Indesem was supervised by Wiek Röling, Herman Hertzberger and Winy Maas. In the coming edition Indesem will combine forces with Michiel Riedijk.

Every edition students from all over the world will tackle the important current issues that have influence on our profession.  The fundamental idea of the seminar is to create an environment where students and professionals can debate about the position of an architect. The outcome can contribute to the current architectural discussion.

Invited Lecturers:

Wiel Arets
Wiel Arets Architects

Marc Boumeester
filmmaker

Dick van Gameren
Dick van Gameren Architecten

Ronald Hamel
environmental psychologist

Herman Hertzberger
HH architects and urban designers

Paul Hekkert
Professor of Form Theory, the Faculty
of Industrial Design Engineering, DUT

Michiel Riedijk
Neutelings Riedijk Architects

Winy Maas*
MVRDV

Christian de Portzamparc*
Christian de Portzamparc architecte urbaniste

Marlies Rohmer
Architectenbureau Marlies Rohmer

Enric Ruiz-Geli
Cloud 9 architects, Spain

Takaharu and Yui Tezuka
Tezuka Architects, Japan

Oliver Thill
Atelier Kempe-Thill

Robert Winkel
Mei. Architects and urbanists

* To be confirmed

Delft University of Technology