© Marco Heyda
Designing public spaces
Aat Vos
As a creative guide, Aat Vos is dedicated to reviving the public domain. He evokes social change through the design of Third Places.
Languages:
Employability:
Keynote Speaker,Panel
Employability:
Keynote Speaker,Panel,
About Aat Vos
As a creative guide, Aat Vos is dedicated to reviving the public domain. He evokes social change through the design of Third Places. Aat Vos transforms public spaces in collaboration with local stakeholders; he builds a custom network as needed to create an attractive environment with appealing public programming. Like social cement, his method of working and the resulting projects connect people.
He works for a wide variety of clients including governmental organizations, municipalities, and project developers. Amongst these are the OBA (Amsterdam Public Library), Deichman Library (Oslo Public Libraries), Stadtbibliothek Köln (City Library of Cologne), Luxor Theater Rotterdam and Wilmink Theater Enschede.
By mobilizing and connecting the local community Aat Vos changes the role of public places. Aat Vos creates places where people feel included. He shows how everybody, from government to voluntary group, has a part in the development of a vital local community. In his book 3RD4ALL – How To Create a Relevant Public Space (nai010 publishers, 2017) he portrays the five key elements of a successful Third Place.
In his workshops and talks Aat Vos brings clarity in urban issues, public solutions and places local challenges in perspective. He inspires the audience on how place making can be a solution for society.
Through his words:
“People are progressively shutting themselves off from the rest of society by hiding away in the comfort of their own bubble. As people withdraw from one another, the divide between the haves and have-nots continues to grow. We can bridge this gap by programming the public space.”
Specialist Subjects
Videos
Bieb-a-palooza - Interview Aat Vos
Moodfilm
Biblo Tøyen
Karin Cudd, Project Manager, Corporate Awareness
"I have known James Dillon for several years and especially appreciate the contributions he made to the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs (FWE) in Paris.
As co-Chair of the FWE conference in Paris, "Invest in Successful Women Entrepreneurs," I asked James to be the final speaker at the event. He understood that he needed to be energetic at the end of a long day in order to keep the 100 multinational attendees interested and finish the conference on a high note. Emphasizing the purpose of the conference, bringing international investors to Paris to meet women entrepreneurs, he offered a powerful metaphor for the audience to keep in mind.
The public responded very positively to James's lively wrap-up session. It is without hesitation that I recommend James as a both a business speaker and facilitator."
References
It was an absolute pleasure to work with Aat Vos
"Aat Vos was the keynote speaker for our EUROCITIES Culture Forum in Gent (October 2017). EUROCITIES is with her 140 members the largest European city network. The EUROCITIES Culture Forum meets twice a year and we askes Aat Vos to talk about his work on 'third places' in Ghent, with a focus on 'The role of culure in shaping third places in cities'. Based on his recent book '3RD4ALL - How to create a relevent public space', Aat built up a fascinating story, which was appreciated by all those present. Together with Aat we also chose a number of cases from the present cities. Aat commented those during the session, which led to an interesting discussion and interaction with the approximately 120 attendees. I personally prepared this Culture Forum with Aat and he's a very pleasant sparring partner. He was open voor consulation and handled this inquiry very professional. It was an absolute pleasure to work with Aat Vos."
Inspiring images and concrete practice stories
"In the spring of 2017, Aat Vos spoke in his own way during our national Congress Performing Arts about the role and meaning of the so-called public 'Third Places'. With inspiring images and concrete practice stories he knew, in an enjoyable way, to interpret third places as indispensable spaces and as a necessary condition for a vital society, now and in the future. On the spot, he stirred up awareness among the boards of directors, culture directors and theater makers, who can play a major role in the success of the third places and subsequently experience immediate benefits through their audience and programming. The five pillars that, according to Vos, ensure local anchoring and relevance: people, places, experiences, programs and the future delivered discussion material for the audience for a long time after his presentation."