Excursions day: Next is not just a place—it’s a responsibility

Where do you want to go to get a deeper view?

Fourth day of sketching 2025 – Sketching Inside and Out – From City Streets to Celebration

Our fourth day of SketchCity 2025 began with Rotterdam’s famously unpredictable weather: a steady rain that sent us from the streets into museums, cafés, and classrooms. But the sketching didn’t stop—it simply changed atmosphere. Between cappuccinos and exhibition walls, students continued to observe, reflect, and draw. Indoors, we shifted the focus to refining sketches, adding […]

Third day of Sketching 2025 – Sketching Rotterdam’s Future—Exploring Urban Themes Through Drawing

On the third day of SketchCity 2025, students ventured into Rotterdam’s diverse urban landscapes, applying the Sketch&Draw method to delve into the city’s complexities. Guided by the week’s central theme — The Challenges of the Future Liveable City —participants explored interconnected topics: Urban Botany, Architecture and Urban Space, Movement Patterns, and Social Impact. Urban Botany: […]

Second Day of Sketching 2025

Following a series of inspiring lectures from leading urban experts—including Jan Rothuizen and the team at DeFacto Urbanism—our students took to the streets of Rotterdam, transforming the city into their open-air studio. Equipped with sketchbooks and the Sketch&Draw method, they explored the urban landscape not just as observers, but as active interpreters of spatial, social, […]

First Day of Sketching and Keynote 2025

The first day of the tenth edition of the sketchcity studyweek is opened. 170 student and 7 lecturers from both countries, The Netherlands ans Switzerland celebrate this event with a guest lecture of Jan Rothuizen. Renu Jagernath, Head of Urban Development at Hogeschool Rotterdam, welcomed us with a warm and inspiring speech on the importance […]

Group architecture and social space

Handouts

Topics of Sketchcity 2025

10th Edition of sketchcity studyweek

Fifth day – Ideas sheets

Knowing the urgent needs helps to find the better solutions.

Fourth Day – Processing the ideas and sketches

Knowing the urgent needs helps to find the better solutions.

Third Day – Scientific input to improve the ideas

Knowing the urgent needs helps to find the better solutions.

Second Day – How to draft an idea with a sketch?

Sketching is more than just a tool for visualising ideas; it is an essential part of the creative process in urban planning.

First Day on the Floating Pavillion

What are the challenges of the future liveable city?

My idea is …

The Sketchcity study week in Rotterdam 2023 generated many exciting ideas on how to transform urban spaces to make them more attractive, environmentally friendly and people-friendly.

Sketchcity 2023 in Rotterdam

Overview of the sketchcity study week

Exhibitions of Ideas | 10th June 2022

The Sketchcity week is almost over. For the last time, all students and lecturers met at the university. All the posters with the ideas are finalised. An exhibition took place where all the innovative and creative ideas were viewed. The best projects were highlighted and discussed. Some very great work has been done! This was celebrated with a final BBQ! Now this wonderful week is over again and everyone is on their way home.

Idea development and lots of sketching | 9th June 2022

This morning the research event – stroll with cognitive map – took place. After the 30 minute walk through Rotterdam, the students met again at the starting point and drew their route from memory.

sketch – sketch – sketch | 8th June 2022

There was also a lot of sketching in the art museum. In the evening we visited the Rotterdam Rooftop walk, which highlights very exciting and important topics.

First Day in Rotterdam | 7th June 2022

First day in Rotterdam. Happy Sketching!

What is the Benefit of sketched visual Storytelling in Social Media by Ideasketches?

It has always been the great trick of devil, to make man believe, he didn’t exist.

Happy sketching in Rotterdam 2022

We are happy to announce the Sketchcity Studyweek in Rotterdam 2022 This year’s study week is again an Erasmus plus project and financed by the EU. It will take place from 6.-10. June 2022 in Rotterdam. This is a presser cooker week with almost 150 Students from Switzerland. The students are joined by Dutch students […]

Sketch&Draw at the Erasmus+ Project Impetus at Coimbra University in Portugal

Sketching Cognitive Maps as a tool for research in climate change

Urban gardening students‘ research

Bringing color, life, and farming traditions back to urban cities: That’s the main goal of Urban Gardening.

Generation project students‘ research

What will the future of housing and co-living look like? The „generation project“ addresses questions like this.

Hands-on art interventions students‘ research

Shared communities organize themselves, pop-ups emerge and art projects are implemented.

Urban green students‘ research

Urban Green explores the ways in which future cities can help people feel good and stay healthy – both physically and psychologically.

Urban, agglomeration & hinterland students‘ research

The number of challenges: dirty air, heavy traffic, and high rents. The boundaries between city and hinterland have dissolved.

Urban water students‘ research

Urban water encompasses the management of a sufficient supply of clean drinking water and the disposal of wastewater.

Heritage & culture students‘ research

Rotterdam is home to the largest seaport in Europe and is the most important trading location for oil in Europe. During the Second World War, the city center was almost completely destroyed …

These are the sketched Corona Stories of June 2020

During four days the students sketched their stories around Corona. The sketched reports were written before the end of the first lockdown in Switzerland, i.e. before 8 June 2020. We all spent 12 weeks in self-distancing and lived according to the motto „stay at home“. Have a look at the nearly 100 stories here, which […]

Day 4: the sketched Corona reportage

After almost a week of sketching, the drawn reports are now available. What is the story behind? Find it out here. Silvan K. Viktoria B. Selina S. Alexanda M. Julia K. Angela S. Estella M. Jael F. Jana H. Jonas Geruscha L. Alessia S. Julia B. Laura K. Lea Z. Lisa H. Luana F. […]

Day 3: work on sketches & texts of the individual Corona reportage story

It is the images that recall our memories that are strong. So let us work with this kind of images.

Day 2: Sketch sketch sketch

The challenge is to wrap up the story in sketches and text. So there was a lot to think about.

Day 1: Sketch a storyboard @ home

How to make a story out of the experiences during Corona?

„Sketchcity“ is part of the Erasmus+ project „impetus“

„impetus“ is the acronym for Innovative measurement tool towards urban environmental awareness.

Futureland: Deine Turnschuhe waren mit grosser Sicherheit schon da! Dein T-Shirt auch!

GROSS, GROSSER, AM GROSSTEN

Day 5: I have a dream – and I sketched it here for you

Bring your idea to a certain shape.

Day 4: Resiliency means to bounce back after being hit

Speaking about resiliency means to know that we will be hit by the changes. The issue is about being prepared.

Day 3: How to prevent liveability to move out of the city!

Seeing the city as a hoodie for everybody! Sketching in the city with focus liveability.

Program Sketchcity Study Week 2018

Timetable

This is my idea for the resilient liveable city

@ Abstracts Wall The random part of the rich ‚my idea is‘ abstracts of the students study week 2017 projects from the Sketchcity Wall. A documentation of all students projects will be published later. A sample Sketchcity Design Sketchidea Process Here are some good ideas presented as a one-page presentation. Not only the sketches are of great value, […]

My idea for the resilient city as a videoabstract

All ideas for the resilient city explained by the students in two minutes. Sketches present the ideas in a visual way.

Day 3: working hard on the ideas

First ideas come to paper and evolve digitally. Meret tells her story with sketches Marc Verheijen about urbanism principles and best practice Marc Verheijen tells is about the city planning tool functional ambiance. The key point of view of his understanding of city planning is that there are always two two perspectives to a […]

Day 2: Ideasketching for Resiliency

Program Thursday Morning and Afternoon 8.45 – 9.30 Walk-in with coffee and tea at Baai 2 in Innovation Dock Sketching time at RDM Rotterdam 12.00 Lunchbags 12.30 – 13.00 PLENARY SESSION: Janneska Spoelman Congress room ID 0.210 Innov.Dock 13.00- 14.00 PLENARY SESSION by Marc Verheijen, architect, infrastructure and mobility expert, city of Rotterdam Sketching time […]

Day 1: What are the challenges?

Program Tuesday Morning We start the sketchity.ch Studyweek at RDM Rotterdam A warm welcome from the dean of Rotterdam University, Wijnand van den Brink to the Swiss and Dutch students of the sketchity studyweek. What are we going to do in the sketchcity.ch studyweek? Presentation by Tanja Hess, Introduction to the topic of the week: ideasketching […]

The Resilience Strategy will ensure that Rotterdam will be prepared

Resilience is more than robustnes.

Architektur wird in Zürich auch verhandelt

Die Stadt wächst nach innen.

Study week 2017 June 6 to 9 Timetable overwiew

Then the groups visit their assigned locations to sketch in the city.

Posters

In the meantime, while you are sketching, you will develop your ideas and you have the time to rethink and alter your focus.

Sketching the challenges of the future resilient city

The sketchcity studyweek 2017 in Rotterdam is a joint project at the Rotterdam University between the two Swiss Universities of applied Sciences Chur and Berne, and the Rotterdam University, the Netherlands. For Multimedia Producers it is most important to have great and interesting content, important topics and material to communicate. The students from the Rotterdam University are the experts for resiliency.

Where the Sketchcity. ch Studyweek 2017 takes place: RDM Rotterdam

Cooperation in the field of knowledge and innovation at a historical location.