Participating students have worked on developing concepts for 'pavilions' for Rotterdam2025. This initiative aims to bring the World Exhibition of 2025 to Rotterdam, to the area around the City harbor. The proposed theme of the Expo in 2025 is the transition to a circular economy. For this Expo concept vacant land and buildings are redeveloped in the city instead of -as is common with the World Expo-  the development of a new area and buildings.

Het Nieuwe Insitituut wants to challenge students to develop a vision of design for a circular economy and culture. The term 'pavilion' may be stretched beyond its conceptual architectural boundaries. The students of today are the designers of 2025 and their voice will be represented by short presentations of the workshop outcomes in the debate "The future of the Expo Model" on Thursday, June 11th from 20:00 to 22:00 in Het Nieuwe Instituut. The workshop is led by Michiel van Iersel, urbanist and curator, of Non-Fiction, Failed Architecture and Rietveld Academy.

Design questions

1. How would participants* in the Expo2025 want to present themselves in relation to the theme Changing Currents / Deltas in Transition? (*Participants can be: countries, NGO’s, larger and smaller companies, cities, regions, universities and schools, charitable organisations, cultural initiatives…)
    
2. What alternative form could a contribution take to the white box with a YouTube clip inside? In other words: what form, at what place(s) can the presentation of a participant take?
    
3. How can a presentation at the Expo be of value for the local community and for societal processes in the city? How can cultural embedding and surplus value be achieved prior to, during and after the Expo?
    
4. How can presentations have a functional and financial value after the event, locally in the city and region, and / or internationally? How can the presentation and the knowledge and network developed around it be continued or re-used?