Buitenplaats Brienenoord
Zoöp since: 2025 | Location: Rotterdam, NL | Speaker for the Living: Ishtar Bakhtali
Buitenplaats Brienenoord is an interdisciplinary rehearsal space for all ages on Brienenoord Island in the middle of the Nieuwe Maas in Rotterdam. From here, they rehearse for a sustainable future where everyone feels welcome, understood and safe, with particular attention to the environment and one another.
Highlights
Highlights of the goals Buitenplaats Brienenoord is working towards as a Zoöp:
- Accessible regenerative food culture
The Buitenplaats works on food that is good for soil and nature while remaining affordable for as many people as possible. This means constantly making choices between ecology and economy. They experiment with new approaches, such as vegetarian cooking, local ingredients and initiatives like the pizza sauna, where a pizza oven simultaneously provides heat for the sauna. - Exploring the boundaries of the site as a Zoöp
Because the Buitenplaats is situated on an island, they explore how far their responsibility extends – not only within the fences, but also via water, air and animals that connect the island to the wider environment. This raises the question: where does the responsibility for a place begin and end when you consider all the life connected to it? - Ongoing zoonomic programming
Together with artists, researchers and residents, programmes are developed around the Zoöp philosophy, such as workshops on making thread from plants found on the island, or walks in which visitors experience the island in a new way through sound, nature and stories.
