On 1 June 2016, Professor Paul Diederen was appointed as part-time Professor of Transformational Design at the Architectural Urban Design & Engineering Department of the Faculty of Building at the Eindhoven University of Technology. On Friday 1 June 2018 he will give his inaugural speech, entitled ‘Designing change/The Design of change/Designing for change’.

The future of the city already exists. It is the city in which we are currently living, learning, working and playing. The innovation of this city requires a nuanced framework of ideas and practical approach. The shock doctrine of tabula rasa is replaced by an adaptive city. Renovation, conversion and the re-use of the existing building stock and the further densification of the city is a continuous process in this approach.

In his inaugural speech Paul Diederen talks about what inspires him as an architect. He describes his vision for the re-use of the post-war construction environment and outlines the spearhead of his research and teaching: how the strength of the existing context is the guide to a new future.