Walls and bridges: knowledge spillover between 'superdutch' architectural firms

Innovation thrives on the face-to-face exchange of tacit knowledge. In this article, the
focus is on how firms in a cutting-edge cultural industry, namely architectural design in
Rotterdam and Amsterdam, can exchange knowledge. By using in-depth interviews with
the main players in this field, I have explored different conduits for the exchange of
knowledge. These conduits turned out to be rather different than was expected: the
importance of the individual signature creates high walls between firms and no projectbased
organizations were found. Instead, the spin-offs, the highly mobile labour pool
and the dedicated institutions function as bridges for knowledge exchange.