02/09/2026
A year after stepping down from the Critical Inquiry Lab, Saskia Van Stein reflects on six years of building the programme, what she learned from students and colleagues, and how education reshaped her own understanding of leadership, collaboration and the role of design in times of systemic change. The entire conversation with Nadine Botha can be found via the link in our bio.
Saskia helped shape the department into a space for critical inquiry, experimentation, dialogue and collective learning - developing new ways of learning, building collaborations and opening the programme up to perspectives beyond the academy. One example was THIRST, a collaborative project that brought together students from across the MA programmes to explore water and its relationship to our bodies, environments, society, and water as a territory.
As Saskia puts it: “I never believed education should remain within four walls.”
We’re incredibly grateful to have had Saskia as part of the Critical Inquiry Lab and for everything she has brought to the programme and its community over the years.
Since 2025, Patricia Reed has taken on the role of Department Head. Having worked alongside Saskia as Co-Head since 2023, Patricia continues to build on what has been developed while taking the department in new directions.
Image 1: Saskia van Stein, by Boudewijn Bollmann
Image 2: MA Collaborative Project: THIRST - Students at DAE are contributing to the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR) on the topic THIRST, by Boudewijn Bollmann
Image 3: Saskia van Stein, by Boudewijn Bollmann
Image 4: Saskia with students
(Critical Inquiry Lab is a full-time, two-year DAE Master programme - learn more about it via our website)
