2 September 2013 - Bouwkunde

B NIEUWS
#01
02 SEPTEMBER 2013
PERIODIEK VAN DE FACULTEIT BOUWKUNDE | TU DELFT
RETREAT IN
NATURE
Studio Bridge to Asia wins third
place in sustainability competition
PAGE 08
2 Nieuws
10/11 Research
14 Forum
SteeOwee
180 kersverse eerstejaars
participeren
Sense of Place
Landscape Architecture at
Oerol
Pathology of a Profession
By Liviu Teodorescu
2 NIEUWS
B NIEUWS 01 2 SEPTEMBER 2013
KORT NIEUWS
B Nieuws is looking
for a new editor!
We're looking for an
opinionated student with
writing skills. As a B Nieuws
editor, you will be taking
interviews, writing and editing
articles and creating layouts. The
student assistantship is worth 0,3
FTE, which amounts to 12 hours a
week. To apply for the job, send
us ([email protected]) your
500-word opinion piece (in
English or Dutch) before the 15th
of september.
BKCity STAY
Due to the BK City Stay project,
some departments, services
and teaching rooms are
temporarily relocated. Get the
flyer with the current floor plan at
the Service Desk and pay attention to the special BK City STAY
signing. If you have any questions
regarding BK City Stay ask the
service desk or take a look at
bk.tudelft.nl/bkcitystay.
Urbanismweek:
Designing Lifestyles
The aim of the Urbanismweek,
organized by Polis, is to
strengthen the connections to
the field of Urbanism by
understanding its routes,
practices and contemporary
issues, while trying to find its
future possibilities. In a fourday program new ways of
approaching different infrastructure aspects and new practices
dealing with the globalized world
are going to be designated. The
aim is to form a platform for
dialogue and discussion through a
series of activities. For more
information, visit:
http://urbanismweek.nl
8-11 October 2013
STEEOWEE
DIT JAAR HEBBEN 180 KERSVERSE EERSTEJAARS, BEGELEID DOOR 36
OUDEREJAARS, MEEGEDAAN AAN DE STEEOWEE, HET INTRODUCTIEWEEKEND
VOOR BOUWKUNDESTUDENTEN. HET AFWISSELENDE PROGRAMMA BOOD
LEZINGEN, WORKSHOPS EN SPEURTOCHTEN.
Delft — Ondanks het thema, ‘de Revolutie’, is het weekend vreedzaam verlopen. Het thema sloeg
dan ook vooral op de duurzaamheidsrevolutie, die zich in de bouwwereld zou moeten voltrekken. Er
waren enkele lezingen over het thema, en ook in de workshops kwam het terug. Er was een recycleworkshop, waarin met pallets en gebruikte spullen een replica van een bekend gebouw werd
gemaakt, zoals de Burj Khalifa op de foto. In de baksteenworkshop was het doel een zo groot
mogelijke overspanning te bereiken met losse bakstenen. Verder waren er nog een vossenjacht en
een Stylosmarkt om elkaar, studievereniging Stylos en de stad Delft te leren kennen.
NIEUWS 3
IDEEËNCOMPETITIE
WACHTEND LAND
DE GEMEENTE BLARICUM IS OP ZOEK NAAR GOEDE IDEEËN VOOR EEN TIJDELIJKE INVULLING VAN
BOUWLOCATIE DE BLARICUMMERMEENT. DOE MEE MET DE IDEEËNCOMPETITIE WACHTEND LAND.
BKCity — In het hele land
worstelen gemeentes met de
vraag hoe zij een tijdelijke
invulling kunnen geven aan
bouwrijpe locaties. Zo ook de
gemeente Blaricum, waar de ruim
40 hectare metende bouwlocatie
Blaricummermeent langdurig in
afwachting is van de beoogde
functie: het Wachtend Land.
Er is grote behoefte aan
uitvoerbare ideeën en initiatieven
én aan partijen die een tijdelijke
invulling kunnen realiseren en
exploiteren. Daarom organiseren
de gemeente Blaricum, de
praktijkleerstoel
Gebiedsontwikkeling TU Delft,
Polis Platform for Urbanism en
Urban Management een
ideeëncompetitie voor tijdelijk
gebruik van de bouwgrond. De
resultaten uit de competitie
kunnen inspiratie bieden aan
gemeenten met een vergelijkbare
problematiek.
doen. Ook is het mogelijk deel te
nemen met een gecombineerd
team van studenten en nietstudenten.
Schrijf je in vóór 24 oktober
2013 via
wachtendland.nl
Multidisciplinaire teams
bestaande uit studenten van
verschillende universiteiten
worden gestimuleerd om mee te
Voor inspiratie en
achtergrondartikelen zie
gebiedsontwikkeling.nu
VOLLE MASTERSTUDIO'S
DEZE ZOMER ONTSTOND ENIGE COMMOTIE OMDAT MASTERSTUDIO’S UIT DE MSC1 EN MSC2 SNEL
VOL RAAKTEN. DAARDOOR KONDEN NIET ALLE STUDENTEN INGESCHREVEN WORDEN BIJ DE
STUDIO VAN HUN EERSTE KEUZE. WAT WAS DE OORZAAK?
BKCity — Het aantal
inschrijvingen voor masterstudio’s
van MSc1 en MSc2 is dit jaar niet
hoger dan vorig jaar. Toen waren
het er 633, nu 616. Het netto
aantal studenten was dus niet de
reden dat ze sneller volstroomden.
Wel waren er fors meer
inschrijvingen dan
geprognosticeerd op basis van
het aantal studenten dat eind
vorig jaar BSc6 deed. Ook het
aantal internationale studenten
dat instroomt, was hoger dan
verwacht. Een aantal studio’s was
gecanceld, waaronder NonResidential Building en Ssc2
Complex Projects. Daardoor
stroomden de andere
ontwerpstudio’s automatisch
eerder vol.
Er zijn dus veel studenten in de
master ingestroomd die vorig jaar
niet Bsc6 deden. Waar kwamen
deze studenten vandaan? Het
blijkt dat veel studenten er een
half jaar of een jaar tussenuit zijn
geweest. Daardoor zijn ze niet
direct na hun bachelor de master
ingestroomd, maar met een
vertraging. Erik Ootes van
Onderwijs & Studentenzaken:
“Mensen gaan er een tijdje
tussenuit om bewuster voor een
master te kiezen.” Komt het door
de crisis dat ze bewuster kiezen?
Ootes denkt van wel: “Doordat er
minder werk is, kiezen studenten
bewuster en nemen meer tijd om
uit te vinden waar echt goed in
zijn en wat ze echt leuk vinden.
Ook gaan veel studenten een tijdje
stage lopen, waardoor ze ervaring
opdoen en alvast een netwerk
opbouwen. Zo kunnen ze hun kans
op een baan vergroten.”
Inmiddels hebben alle
architectuurstudio’s die te veel
inschrijvingen hadden, extra
studieplekken gecreëerd. Daarvoor
zijn gastdocenten aangesteld. Er is
gepoogd zo veel mogelijk
studenten te plaatsen in de studio
van hun eerste keuze. Hierbij is
voorrang verleend aan studenten
die hun bachelor al volledig
hadden afgerond en aan
internationale studenten.
Studenten die na de junitentamens
en na de augustustentamens hun
bachelor hebben behaald, zijn
daarna geplaatst.
KARIN LAGLAS
Nieuw!
Nieuwe decaan, nieuw
bachelorcurriculum. Het schijnt een
wetmatigheid te zijn. Het bracht
Gerrie Hobbelman bij zijn afscheid
van de faculteit na veertig jaar
ervaring tot de tip “wees zuinig op
de decaan”. Van harte mee eens
natuurlijk.
Dit studiejaar beginnen we er
dan aan, onze vernieuwde
Bachelor. Ruim twee en een half
jaar uitdenken en voorbereiden
gingen eraan vooraf. Er is
spijkerhard aan gewerkt en het ziet
er prachtig uit. Mooi overzichtelijk
in modules opgebouwd. Goed
voor- en achteruit op elkaar
aansluitend. Veel meer een geheel.
Meer variatie in onderwijsvorm en
toetsing. Grotere vakken en
daarmee minder versnippering.
Beter studeerbaar. En natuurlijk is
ook inhoudelijk een kwaliteitsslag
gemaakt. Aansluiting bij de
actualiteit. Duurzaamheid
verankerd in alle vakken.
Hergebruik expliciet als
ontwerpopgave aan de orde. De
praktijk van het digitaal
samenwerken – BIM - prominent in
beeld. Nadrukkelijk aandacht voor
hoe het in de praktijk gaat en
evenzo nadrukkelijk aandacht voor
academisch – onderzoekend –
werken en denken. En bij dat alles
is natuurlijk als kernonderdeel
substantiële ruimte gebleven voor
het ontwerpen. Dat leer je immers
vooral door het te doen. Kortom:
een pareltje! Compliment aan de
vele collega’s die dit programma
ontworpen en gebouwd hebben.
We gaan in één keer over van
oud naar nieuw. “Not with a
whisper but with a bang”. Alle
bachelor studenten volgen komend
jaar het nieuwe curriculum. En alle
betrokken docenten geven het.
Voor de eerste keer. Zal best even
wennen zijn. De voorbereiding is
minutieus geweest maar ja, bij een
eerste keer zal er vast ook een keer
wat mis gaan. Gelukkig hebben we
voldoende creativiteit in huis om
adequaat te improviseren als het
nodig is.
Het nieuwe studiejaar is weer
begonnen. Met nieuwe energie na
de vakantie. Met nieuwe studenten
erbij, met een nieuwe FSR en bijna
een nieuw Stylos bestuur. En met
een (ver)nieuw(d)e Bachelor.
Hopelijk gaat ie lang mee!
4 REVIEW
B NIEUWS 01 2 SEPTEMBER 2013
A BUMPY ROAD
TO TURKEY
LAST YEAR OCTOBER, B NIEUWS ANNOUNCED THE INITIATIVE OF THREE TU DELFT
ALUMNI TO BRING THE DUTCH RAILWAY EXHIBITION STATION CENTRAAL TO TURKEY.
NOT AS SMOOTHLY AS HOPED, STATION CENTRAAL ONLY ARRIVED IN ISTANBUL AND
ANKARA IN MAY THIS YEAR, SIX MONTHS LATER THAN PLANNED. RODERICK TROMPERT,
ONE OF THE ORGANIZERS, TALKED TO B NIEUWS ABOUT THE UNEXPECTED SETBACKS.
BY WING YINJUN WENG
Uncertain is probably how Frans
Bochanen, Roderick Trompert and
Sine Celik had felt for months
when trying to set up the exhibition in Turkey from the Netherlands. Although their initiative to
showcase Dutch and Turkish
railway designs received great
support from Dutch architecture
firms and organizations, the
team’s Turkish contact TCDD, the
Turkish State Railways, didn’t
seem able to formally confirm the
location and logistics. “Quite
often, TCDD told us that they
were still working on some
paperwork, or they didn’t have
the right person to sign the
papers yet. Once, we got in
contact with a staff member
there, only to find out weeks later
that he was no longer working
there,” explained Trompert.
It took the team a few months of
frustration to realize that they had
better take matters into their own
hands. They contacted the
architecture faculty of the
Istanbul Technical University
(ITU) for setting up the location,
the Turkish Architecture Association for participants, and even
managed to receive sponsorship
from the Dutch embassy in
Ankara.
Things finally came together on
the 4th of May, when a symposium marked the opening of the
exhibition in Istanbul, featuring
prominent Turkish architects and
Dutch speakers from UN Studio,
Mecanoo and Nederlandse
Spoorwegen (NS). A three-day
workshop followed, with participants from both TU Delft and ITU.
The exhibition, showcasing eight
railway stations from the Netherlands and ten Turkish stations
being developed at the moment,
later continued in Ankara till the
end of May.
“What caught the public’s
attention was not just the
difference between Dutch and
Turkish designs, but also the
differentiating proposals from the
Turkish government and local
architecture firms, particularly in
their design scales and approaches in respect to the local
context. This also stirred up some
criticism on the large-scale state
buildings in Turkey during the
discussion,” said Trompert.
As remarkable as it seems for
three alumni to pull off a symposium, a workshop and an extensive exhibition 1,400 miles away
from home, the organizers
themselves find it more of a
bittersweet success. “We came
across many unexpected pro-
blems that required an immediate
response,” recalled Trompert.
“We had to pin up the posters in
the last minute because of
delayed logistics for example, or
to reschedule the program on the
spot.” In their reflection, the
success is the completion of their
ambitious plan to move Station
Centraal abroad, but also a
valuable lesson that might make
their next journey into a bigger
success.
Interested to know more about
the exhibition? Stay tuned for the
upcoming publication, featuring
both materials of the station
projects and the topics discussed
during the symposium.
For more info:
stationcentraal.eu
UPCOMING 5
A TRANS-ATLANTIC
COLLABORATION
On June 4th Parallel 52 and the Consulate General of the Netherlands in Vancouver organized one of its first
official events, the seminar “Opportunities for International Partnerships in Sustainable Building”
THE IDEA WAS BORN ON THE COMMUTE BACK FROM CANADA TO THE NETHERLANDS IN LATE 2011. AFTER ATTENDING TWO
EVENTS ON SUSTAINABLE CITY PLANNING AND SUSTAINABLE BUILDING, ANKE VAN HAL, PROFESSOR OF SUSTAINABLE HOUSING
TRANSFORMATION AT OUR FACULTY, AND ANNEMARIE VAN DOORN, PROGRAM MANAGER OF GREEN BUSINESS CLUB
INTERNATIONAL, REALIZED THAT BOTH COUNTRIES WERE DEALING WITH THE SAME TOPICS CONCERNING SUSTAINABILITY, BUT
BOTH POSSESSED DIFFERENT FIELDS OF KNOWLEDGE.
BY DAPHNE BAKKER
Innovation, sustainable buildings and sustainable cities are important
topics in the Netherlands and Canada. Both countries have a high
ambition on the reduction of CO2 emissions. van Hal and van Doorn
desired a way to continue collaborating and exchanging information on
sustainability with their Canadian counterparts. Parallel 52, a DutchCanadian network for sustainable planning and building named after
the circle of longtitude which passes through both nations, was born.
Parallel 52 aims to explore, create and improve business and academic
opportunities in the field of sustainability of the built environment. Now,
with the help of three recent TU Delft graduates, the network is about
to set up its first Dutch event during the Dutch Building Week.
Ermal Kapedani, Piet Hein Hoeksma and Hens Zoet are recent
Architecture graduates and all three became involved with Parallel 52
in order to set up the infrastructure for the network. While Kapedani
remained in the Netherlands, both Hoeksma and Zoet set out to Canada
in order to find interesting partners for the network and to create a
Canadian base.
One of the first collaborations within the network involved the TU Delft.
“When van Hal realized that the Faculty of Architecture within the
University of British Columbia was working on the same subject of
urban regeneration, a virtual exchange was set up between the studio
in Vancouver and the studio of the Veldacademie in Delft” explains
Zoet, who represents Parallel 52 in Vancouver. According to Hoeksema,
who’s based in Toronto, students and professors in Toronto have also
expressed a desire to collaborate with Delft. The aim is to create a pilot
project in which the collaboration will start out virtual and if successful
might someday involve the exchange of students. Hoeksema and the
Toronto students now just have to convince the Canadian professors,
who have proven to be more cautious compared to their Dutch
counterparts.
But where the Canadians can learn from the Dutch boldness, the Dutch
can learn from Canadian business-mindedness. While TU Delft has just
begun setting up its Sustainability Village, the University of British
Columbia had a headstart with their Centre for Interactive Research on
Sustainability (CIRS), a state-of-the-art ‘living laboratory’ in which to
conduct research and assessment activities for high-performance
building systems and technologies. The building itself is both their
subject and their lab and was sponsored by green businesses. “In Delft
they can learn a lot from UBC’s collaboration with commercial
companies” says Zoet.
With the increasing awareness of Dutch and Canadian strengths and
the establishment of a base in both countries, Parallel 52 is now set to
grow. On behalf of Parallel 52, former chief planner of Vancouver Brent
Toderian will be a keynote speaker at the Green Buildings Holland
conference in Amsterdam on September 19th 2013. The conference is
part of the Dutch Green Building Week, a week of exhibitions,
workshops, conferences and other activities around a sustainable built
environment all over The Netherlands. Brent will also attend an event
at the Architecture Faculty on September 18th where he will give a
short presentation and meet with professors, practitioners and
students.
For more info on future events and projects: parallel52.org
6 BK IN DEPTH
In mei van dit jaar
zetten studenten van
de TU Eindhoven de
faculteit Bouwkunde
te koop op
Marktplaats, nadat
bekend werd dat de
Mastertrack BT werd
opgeheven.
WAT IS ER MIS MET
BOUWTECHNOLOGIE?
VEEL VERBAASDE EN BOZE REACTIES VOLGDEN OP HET BERICHT DAT DE TU
EINDHOVEN HEEFT BESLOTEN TE STOPPEN MET DE MASTERTRACK
BOUWTECHNOLOGIE. WAT WAS ER MIS MEE? IS ONZE MASTERTRACK BT
EEN ZELFDE LOT BESCHOREN?
DOOR MANON SCHOTMAN
Volgens het bericht op de website van TU Eindhoven houdt de mastertrack Bouwtechnologie op te
bestaan omdat het aspirant-onderzoeksprogramma dat eraan gekoppeld was, is gestopt. De TU
Eindhoven zegt zich meer te willen inzetten op onderzoek ‘met een academisch karakter’, wat
betekent dat het zich wil richten op de ‘ontwikkeling van nieuwe kennis’. Het uitvoeringsgerichte
onderzoeksprogramma past daar niet bij. Met het stoppen van het onderzoeksprogramma moest
ook de mastertrack worden opgeheven, omdat ‘de koppeling tussen onderwijs en onderzoek
onvoldoende geborgd was’.
Andy van den Dobbelsteen, sinds 1 juli voorzitter van AE+T, de afdeling die de mastertrack
Bouwtechnologie in Delft verzorgt, vindt de officiële reden voor het stoppen van het masteronderwijs raar. “Ik kan me niet voorstellen dat we hier een opleiding zouden opheffen omdat het onderzoek even niet lekker loopt.” Hij vermoedt dat er andere redenen zijn die niet naar buiten zijn
gebracht. Hij betreurt het besluit. “Het is slecht voor de bouw in Nederland. Bouwbedrijven
reageerden verbijsterd, want er is veel behoefte aan afgestudeerden die gespecialiseerd zijn in het
soort uitvoeringsgerichte kennis die in de mastertrack werd onderwezen.”
Studenten die van plan zijn bouwtechnologie aan de TU Delft te studeren, hoeven niet te vrezen dat
deze ook zal worden opgeheven. De mastertrack in Delft heeft namelijk een heel ander karakter dan
de nu opgeheven opleiding in Eindhoven. Dat is bewust zo gedaan. “Bouwtechnologie in Delft is
minder uitvoeringsgericht en meer gericht op de integratie tussen techniek en ontwerpen. De
mastertracks in Delft en Eindhoven waren geen concurrenten van elkaar, maar vulden elkaar juist
aan. Met het wegvallen van de mastertrack in Eindhoven valt er nu een gat in het academische
onderwijsaanbod. We bekijken hoe we dat toch weer kunnen aanbieden. Misschien is het aan Delft
om dat gat te dichten”, aldus Van den Dobbelsteen.
‘Onze’ mastertrack Bouwtechnologie zet juist in op groei. Het curriculum is onlangs veranderd,
waarbij duurzaamheid volledig in het programma is geïntegreerd. Wie het duurzaamheidsprogramma volgt, krijgt een TiDO-aantekening op zijn diploma. “Er is in de bouw, zelfs in crisistijd, een
sterke behoefte aan technische ingenieurs”, zegt Van den Dobbelsteen. Wat bijzonder is aan de
opleiding is dat deze niet zozeer specialisten opleidt, maar ingenieurs die de techniek gebruiken als
integraal aspect van het ontwerpen. Dit sluit goed aan bij de wensen van de markt, waar technische ingenieurs vaak in ontwerpteams samenwerken met vormgevers en andere partijen. (Aanstaande) bouwtechnologen kunnen dus opgelucht ademhalen. Wat in Eindhoven is gebeurd, krijgt
geen vervolg in Delft.
UPCOMING 7
MEET VAN RIJS
OUR FIRST GUEST-PROF
BY IVAN THUNG
BOTH TIMES JACOB VAN RIJS JOINED TU DELFT, THE BUILDING
INDUSTRY WAS IN CRISIS. FIRST AS A STUDENT, NOW AS A
LEADING ARCHITECT AT MVRDV. FROM SEPTEMBER FIRST, VAN
RIJS WILL BE TEACHING AT OUR FACULTY AS GUEST-PROFESSOR
FOR A YEAR IN A MSC2 DWELLING DESIGN STUDIO.
Van Rijs is the first “guest professor” the Architecture Faculty has
employed, an entitlement that allows the faculty to attract top teachers
without all the administrative hassle and appointment procedures that
accompanies normal professorships. Van Rijs is no stranger here, and he
comfortably greets some old acquaintances he has studied with as we sit
down in the Espressobar. Since van Rijs started studying in the middle of
a crisis in the eighties, the unemployment that looms over our recent
graduates is not foreign to him. We talked with van Rijs about his ideas
for the studio and practicing architecture in times of change.
The dwelling studio takes place in Amsterdam, aren’t you more a
Rotterdam kind of guy?
People tend to associate me with Rotterdam because our office is located
there, but I was born in Amsterdam and have studied there for two years.
And with MVRDV we have done a lot of projects in Amsterdam.
What was the leading idea for the project?
The idea for the project is that we collaborate very closely with the
municipality, so that we almost create a real-life situation with a commissioner. The project is situated in Amsterdam-Noord, at one of the banks
of the IJ, opposite the Central Station. The developments that took place
in the last decades alongside these banks can be seen as a chain of
beads, each one of them being a unique project, and this project area
should have been another bead as well. Now, however, a lot of developments are put on hold because of a lack of developers and a difficult
market, so the question is what to do with this plot of land. Since the
normal procedure of simply hooking up a commissioner and an architect
doesn’t work that easily anymore. The building machine has gotten
stuck. The municipality is because of that situation very open to whatever inspiration university students can give them for new ideas.
Doesn’t such a "real" project curb the students’ freedom?
How many projects like this are you going to do during your studies,
really? People have always been complaining that students have no clue
of what happens in the real world. On the one hand, your study-time is
indeed the moment to experiment, on the other hand, it is very important
to get to know the reality of your profession. You should not just let it
restrain you that something cannot be built, but you should also be aware
of the processes with which something comes into being. That means for
example being aware of how to present to other people, - an almost real
client in this case, and I think it is going to be very interesting to present
the work of the Studio to people of Amsterdam in Amsterdam.
Has the crisis when you started affected your studies?
I studied in the eighties, which hosted a crisis as least as terrible as this
one. To be sure not be unemployed, I started studying biochemistry for
two years. But I quickly noticed that chemistry was not for me, and I
found that you should not be scared off too quickly by bad times. So I
switched to architecture anyway. Delta, the official university magazine,
would at the time publish the unemployment numbers of graduates and
Architecture would always lead the list. But when I finished the crisis
already passed; so hey, it doesn’t stay crisis all the time.
MVRDV's Parkrand (images by Rob 't Hart)
What are you taking with you from MVRDV?
I would say, a certain attitude and way of approaching things, but this
project is going to be totally different from what is happening at the
Why Factory; although regarding methodology and ideas there might
be some overlaps.
Do you have any advice for the aspiring architect?
So many things come together with
architecture, nowadays, that as a student,
you can or should choose what kind of
architect you want to be. Do you want to
be a technical architect, an organisational
one, or a really artistic one? What I mean
to say is that instead of generalisation, I
would always advise to specialize yourself,
to carve out your own domain that
differentiates you from other architects.
An office will find you more useful if you
Jacob van Rijs
have a particular skill: we already have so
Jacob van Rijs graduated
many generalists. These guys from 2012
from the Faculty of
(or Superuse) for example [points at
Architecture and The
Espressobar] have been very clever in
Built Environment in
“claiming” recycling.
Delft in 1990. In 1993,
I am curious to find out how students have
changed from when I was studying. We
used to be very busy with Shape, how
things looked and less so with society as
such. Sustainability was not an issue yet,
technology not so much too. Computers
just appeared on the scene. We were
generation 1.0 in that respect. We just
went through the seventies with all the
dreams of participations and we found the
buildings all looked horrible. Buildings
should look better, we thought. Maybe
that was then the hotbed of the so-called
iconic architecture. Now, however, it
seems that participation has come back
with full force.
together with Winy Maas
and Nathalie de Vries, he
started the architectural
firm MVRDV. With a
range of updated
concepts for urban
construction and architecture, MVRDV tries to
find solutions for current
urban and architectonic
questions.
Together with the Faculty
of Architecture and The
Built Environment,
MVRDV runs The Why
Factory, where Jacob van
Rijs's colleague Winy
Maas is professor of
Architecture and Urban
Design.
10 RESEARCH
BY WING YINJUN WENG
B NIEUWS 01 2 SEPTEMBER 2013
SENSE
OF PLACE
It was the morning of June 15th 2013, on the island of Terschelling. He
woke up with a light headache, some remote beat of music still
humming in his ear. The early sunlight lit up the beach and evoked an
unusual serenity of the landscape behind it. He rose to his feet, shook of
the sand on his hood, and strolled towards the woods.
about. He went closer. It was the Cabinet of Sound, hung effortlessly on
the trunk of a tree. How silent, he kept thinking, as he stood there,
showered in the light piercing through the woods. He picked up the
twigs under his shoes, shoved a few in the tube, and wrote: the sound
of silence.
He still had the test tube with him. It was a clear glass tube, with a
rough wooden cork and a piece of paper tag tied to it. It was from a
young man he met two days ago on the island - a young man in a white
lab coat with the most eager look in his eyes.
If you were at the Oerol Festival this year, you might not be unfamiliar
with the scene of glass tubes and white cabinets. It belonged to a
temporary project carried out by the chair of Landscape Architecture at
TU Delft, in the aim of expressing the landscape of Terschelling.
He was still not sure what to make of it. The landscape, he realized, as
he stepped into the woods and enjoyed the sound of twigs cracking
under his feet, was something he never thought about before.
Tutored by Denise Piccinini and Michiel Pouderoijen, twelve students
from the Faculty of Architecture took on the project as an elective
course in the last semester. As they attempted to investigate the
landscape of Terschelling and discover the ‘sense of place’, their
interactive project also raised the awareness of the island among the
As he walked on, he saw the white cabinet the young man had told him
11
visitors at the festival. Denise Piccinini sat down with B Nieuws and
explained the process of this project.
You used test tubes to collect data in the project. Why did you
choose this method and how did it work exactly?
We didn’t really know how we’d carry out this project in the
beginning. We wanted the students to learn by doing, but we were
uncertain what we should build on the island. We asked ourselves if
there’s a need to build anything at all.
We realized that it’s a question we needed to ask the public - the
users and visitors on the island. So during the Oerol Festival, we went
there, handed out test tubes to the participants of the festival, and
requested them to put the ‘essence of Terschelling’ in the test tube
and return that to us. Attached to the tube was a tag, where people
could write down their age, gender, place of residence, what the
weather was like, the time of the day, and a note of their experience,
in words or drawings.
The visitors were then asked to go into the forest and put their test
tube in one of the nine white cabinets in the ‘open air laboratory’. The
cabinets have rather poetic themes such as ‘overwhelming nature’ or
‘immeasurable colours’. We then collected all the test tubes, stored
them digitally, and began to analyze and categorize the data.
The whole setting of this project seems very artistic. Do you
think this is more of an art project or science project?
It’s a difficult question. In fact, what we tried to do is to combine
science with art. The traditional landscape architecture project is
more about the site itself and about the archive. This is, in a way,
what the nine cabinets are for. We designed the cabinets in such a
way that they formed a group of ‘objet trouvé’, because they were
installed in accordance with the shape of the old dunes, the
topography, the raster of tress and the patterns on the forest floor. So
when people walk from one cabinet to another, they would experience
the landscape, the height difference and various
materials.
The Cabinet of Natural Unity
about. For example, we received a tube with a very specific plant in it.
It is the type of plant that only grows on the island, due it its unique
conditions involving the water, the layers of sand, the temperature and
so on. This is information about time, nature and landscape, and it’s of
great value.
'WE SIMPLY WANTED
TO SHOW THE
LANDSCAPE AND
MAKE PEOPLE AWARE
OF IT.'
This is perhaps not a conventional landscape
design, but we didn’t want to change anything.
We simply wanted to show the landscape and
make people aware of it. In that sense, we
achieved that by giving them the assignment with
the test tube. Some of the participants even told
me, weeks later, that they were still thinking
about the assignment. What we also achieved is the collection of data.
The statistics and patterns resulting from these data are of course
scientific.
However, the act, the white lab coats and white cabinets were not
necessary for a science project. These were, in a way, the artistic
elements we packaged our project with.
Sometimes people put down personal feelings and emotions in
the test tube. How do you deal with this type of information? Is
it also of scientific value?
We have to categorize them. One of them could be about material. For
example, some people returned sand and they talked about its color
and texture. Others related places to memory, or to certain stories. In
those cases, they could get rather personal and we can’t really use
them.
Of course what I’m mostly interested in is the landscape they talk
How do you plan to use the result of this
project?
We are still discussing how to continue with
the data, but I think there are different
options. We could, for instance, make a design
project on the island, using the research result
from this project. But we could also apply this method somewhere else.
We are now invited to carry out a similar project around Hofbogen in
Rotterdam. It doesn’t have to be test tubes, but the method of involving
the people who live around and encouraging them to experience the
place can be applied there too.
For more info:
iopm.nl
EXHIBITION
The result of this project will be showcased in an exhibition at the
Faculty of Architecture.
Location: Orange Hall
Time: 9th - 20th September
BK IN FOCUS 13
IN MEMORIAM
IR. KARIN THEUNISSEN
ONS BEREIKTE HET SCHOKKENDE BERICHT VAN DE PLOTSELINGE DOOD VAN ONZE DIERBARE COLLEGA KARIN THEUNISSEN, DIE ONS ZOVELE JAREN HEEFT VERGEZELD. ALS STUDENT, ALS COLLEGA-DOCENT, ALS VAKGENOOT.
DOOR MICHIEL RIEDIJK, LEEN
VAN DUIN EN HENK ENGEL
Karin Theunissen (17 december
1954 – 10 juli 2013)
onderzoek. Karin is daaraan altijd
trouw gebleven.
Zij was steeds nauw betrokken bij
de ontwikkeling van onderwijs en
onderzoek van de faculteit
Bouwkunde; eerst als studentassistent en later als universitair
docent. De faculteit was, denken
we, een belangrijk deel van haar
leven. Jammer genoeg kreeg
Karin, al dan niet terecht, in de
afgelopen jaren steeds sterker het
gevoel dat zij haar inbedding in
de afdeling Architectuur kwijt
raakte. Ze werd onzeker over haar
werk, terwijl ze zonder meer een
uitstekend docent was en een
gedreven onderzoeker. Om te
begrijpen wat haar dreef en wat
haar inzet was, willen we haar
bijdrage aan onderzoek en
onderwijs kort schetsen.
Vanuit het ‘Studenten Overleg
Architectuur’ heeft Karin begin
jaren tachtig, samen met Susanne
Komossa, enthousiast
meegewerkt aan de opzet van een
nieuwe collegereeks. Daarin
werd, onder leiding van Leen van
Duin en Michiel Polak, werk van
toonaangevende Nederlandse
architecten gedocumenteerd en
besproken onder de titel
‘Architectonische Studies’. Als
student-assistent ontwikkelde ze
toen een academische houding
die in latere studies van haar
hand naar voren komt. Wij
noemen er twee. ‘Normering in de
woningbouw in relatie tot
veranderende woon- en
leefvormen’ (1987) deed ze samen
met Anna Vos en Jenneke
Terhorst in opdracht van VROM
en de Emancipatieraad. ‘Bouwen
in de stad’ (1989) deed ze met
Arjan Hebly vanuit
architectenbureau ‘Hebly
Theunissen’. Dat richtte ze op in
1986, direct na haar afstuderen.
Zoals voor veel van haar collega’s
werd de basis voor haar latere
docentschap gelegd in haar
studententijd, eind jaren zeventig.
Uit het onderwijs en de excursies
in die tijd is een grote
vriendenkring voortgekomen.
Karin was actief betrokken in het
‘Studenten Overleg Architectuur’,
in de werkcolleges
‘Vrouwenstudies’ en in het tot
stand komen van het
studentenblad ‘O’, het huidige
‘OASE’. Deze kringen hebben zich
allemaal ingezet voor de
koppeling van onderwijs en
In 1997 kreeg ze opnieuw een
aanstelling bij de faculteit
Bouwkunde. Nu als universitair
docent. In het werkverband
‘Woningbouw’ ging ze met Max
Risselada en Henk Engel
meewerken aan het
onderzoeksproject ‘Revisie van de
Modernen’. Haar bijdrage spitste
zich vervolgens toe op de studie
van het werk van de architecten
‘Venturi Scott Brown’. Ze zou die
later gaan uitwerken in een
dissertatie: ‘Interior streets in the
work of Venturi Scott Brown’. Van
dit onderzoek heeft ze bij
verschillende gelegenheden
verslag gedaan. De presentaties
bij het bezoek van Robert Venturi
en Denise Scott Brown aan de
Faculteit Bouwkunde (februari
2005) en in het peer review
colloquium (2009) waren
indrukwekkend. Een jaar later
kreeg ze op het Venturi
Symposium te Yale veel
waardering voor de aanpak van
haar onderzoek. Rond die tijd
heeft Karin zich ook bijzonder
ingespannen om het European
Architectural History Network
(EAHN) van de grond te krijgen.
Karin onderzocht gebouwen en
stedelijke ensembles om hun
interne logica te achterhalen.
Maar het ging niet alleen om de
logica; Karin wilde de intrinsieke
waarde van het architectonisch
ontwerp zichtbaar maken. Ze
mikte op ‘reconstructie’ in plaats
van ‘deconstructie’. In een
‘deconstructie’ raakt de betekenis
van het ontwerp verstrooid en
vervluchtigt in de vele referenties
waarnaar een architectuur
verwijst. Een ‘reconstructie’ richt
zich juist op wat met deze
referenties in het ontwerp is
gedaan. Dat is voor
architectuurstudenten ontzettend
belangrijk. Veel van het
onderzoek met behulp van
tekeningen en vooral maquettes
deed ze samen met haar
studenten.
Voor deze vorm van
wetenschappelijk onderwijs en
onderzoek zocht Karin
academische erkenning. Zij had
het gevoel dat de waardering voor
deze manier van werken die in
Delft sinds de jaren zeventig is
ontwikkeld, geleidelijk was
weggeëbd. Wat ons betreft, is
haar werk een stimulans om juist
op die weg voort te gaan. Het
werk van Karin Theunissen is een
prachtig voorbeeld van de manier
waarop onderwijs en onderzoek
in de architectuur kunnen
samengaan. Het zal deel blijven
uitmaken van de typisch Delftse
benaderingswijze van
architectuuronderwijs en –
onderzoek. En het zal, daarvan
zijn wij overtuigd, daarbinnen ook
navolging vinden.
12 BK IN FOCUS
B NIEUWS 01 2 SEPTEMBER 2013
PATTERNS
AND ANALOGIES
WHEN DESIGNING, DO YOU FIND YOURSELF WAITING IN VAIN FOR THAT BRILLIANT INSIGHT? PERHAPS USING SOME
‘DESIGN TOOLS’ COULD HELP TO ENHANCE YOUR CREATIVE ABILITIES. IN AN EXPERIMENT LED BY PROF. ARJAN VAN
TIMMEREN AND DR. HERNAN CASAKIN, TWO DESIGN TOOLS WERE TESTED: PATTERNS AND ANALOGIES.
BY MANON SCHOTMAN
Patterns and analogies
In the experiment, 66 master and
PhD students were asked to
perform a design exercise aided
by two design tools: patterns and
analogies. The term ‘pattern’ was
first coined by Cristopher
Alexander in the sixties. It is an
archetypal and reusable
description of a design idea,
which can be used to solve
complex design problems. An
analogy is the cognitive process of
transferring information or
knowledge from a specific domain
to another domain. The students
were given a certain pattern (for
example: the small public square)
or analogy (for example: a
volcano), and were asked to use
these as a tool to solve a design
exercise.
The effects of the two different
design tools were examined in
two different situations: When a
student dealt with a design
exercise individually and when
the tools were used in a group of
three students. Different stages in
a creative design task were
tested: problem definition, idea
generation, analysis of the design
solutions, clarifications of idea
solutions, and evaluation of idea
solutions.
Findings
What is remarkable is that for all
stages, except problem definition
and idea generation, it was more
useful for students to work in a
group than individually. Another
important conclusion from the
experiment is that the two
different design tools provide help
in different phases of the design:
Design patterns were mainly
useful for understanding the
design problem from a technical
and functional perspective, and
for providing functional solutions.
Analogies, on the other hand, are
more useful in generating a large
number of creative and
unconventional ideas.
years of their education, students
tend to be very much influenced
by the advice given by their
tutors. Rather than following their
teacher’s ideas, students should
be focussing more on developing
their own ideas.” Teachers could
use these design tools to help
students become more
independent in the design studio,
and enhance their own ideas and
solutions.
Use for education
What can we learn from this
design experiment for our design
education? According to dr.
Hernan Casakin, the experiment
provides interesting possibilities
for both students and design
studio teachers. “In the first few
Case #1 - BK City
Design solution for BK City using the analogy of a roller coaster
Case #2 - Schiphol Plaza
Design solution for Schiphol Plaza using the pattern 'small public square'
14 FORUM
B NIEUWS 01 2 SEPTEMBER 2013
@
Deep-rooted sentiments? Interesting views? Use forum as your
discussion platform! Send your articles and letters to [email protected].
React on bnieuws.wordpress.com!
THE PRESENT PATHOLOGY OF A PROFESSION
Restart
Some people might have you
believe that graduating is just
another step in what is often
regarded as the linear progression
of life. And it might even be that
way. But it sure doesn’t feel like it.
Some people might have you
believe that graduating is just
another step in what is often
regarded as the linear progression
of life. And it might even be that
way. But it sure doesn’t feel like it.
For someone who spent the last
eighteen years of his life in schools
of all kinds, I have come to a point
where everything I knew and took
for granted is basically gone. Not
only does it mean that once I find a
job (let’s be optimistic here), I can
no longer rely on two months of
blissful inactivity during the
summer, nor the bliss ignorance of
not having to take care of all my
administration. Neither can I return
to the general biorhythm of school
life. In a subtle way, I’m now
somehow grown up, and might be
required to act that way. And not
ironically, a non-prescription pair of
thick-rimmed glasses and a black
turtleneck will no longer do the
trick alone.
So while I only just started
sending out my CV and portfolio to
everywhere I can think of, I already
did a sweep of my Facebook page.
From there I removed any
potentially strange and
inappropriate profile images, or at
least ones that a tired Human
Resources Manager without any
sense of humor on a Friday
afternoon (or Monday morning)
might decide do not make me an
ideal employee/intern at
Architectural Firm XY.
And so I’ve been reduced to
this. After years of sometimes hard
work, books upon books about
architecture, the soaking in endless
theories by some of the greatest
architectural thinkers, in lectures
about how sustainability will save
the world and make it a better
place, I’m stuck at home worrying
about spelling mistakes on my
portfolio and stupid things I might
or might not have said in social
media a few years ago.
Maybe this whole graduation
and looking for a job thing is a kind
of restart. To take the good with
you and leave the bad behind (or
at least hide it from the world). To
finally come down to the “real
world” from the intoxicating world
of studenthood and be fully
immersed in the banalities of
everyday life and homemaking
before work consumes you for the
next forty or more years. So as
confusing as this time is, I think I
should try to enjoy it...
FOR THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS
THE GLOBAL ECONOMY HAS BEEN
IN THE SLUMPS. ITS' SINGULAR
MISSION STATEMENT FOR THOSE
DARK YEARS FELL UNDER DAMAGE
CONTROL AND THE MINIMIZING OF
LOSSES. THIS PHENOMENON HAS
BEEN EXTENSIVELY DISSECTED AND
ANALYSED BY THE SOCIETAL
ACTORS. WHILE ALMOST ALL
PROFESSIONS WERE SEVERELY
AFFECTED DURING ECONOMIC
STAGNATION, THE FIELD OF DESIGN
HAD A SPECIAL CONDITION. AND
THIS GOES NOT UNADDRESSED.
IN THIS ARTICLE I WILL TRY TO
EXPLAIN THE "WHYS" AND
TENTATIVELY TOUCH UPON THE
"HOWS".
Designers operate effectively during
economic growth when opportunities
for investment and profit are
abundant, be it public or private
investment. Therefore, "design" can
be seen as one of the principal
professions to coast on the effects of
growth and optimism. However, it is
also one of the most vulnerable to
economic collapse and most
importantly it is one of the slowest to
recover during another growth cycle.
For example, the IT market operates
in milliseconds, almost to the point of
real-time, while the design market
(considering the construction sector)
operates in aeons. I will not go into
the details why this takes place,
however I do believe it is somewhat
intuitive, as it has to do with the
flexibility of capital, demand and
management.
Taking this into account, I argue that
the inherent condition of design
coupled with the context of the new
market has created the precipice of a
three-pronged phenomena that is
slowly but surely killing the design
profession: employer ethics, human
capital (the designers themselves)
and overall national policy.
Firstly, while the deep freeze in the
design and construction sectors
compounded with the cuts in
investments shrunk the whole design
market, it also skewed the
relationships between employer and
employee. Essentially when the
supply and demand chain of jobs is
unbalanced (here meaning high job
demand but low supply) the employer
can underbid. What this means is that
the employer can exploit the
condition of the market for personal
gain. Examples are quite numerous:
hyperinflation of open competitions
(essentially another form of employee
exploitation), design firms solely
offering internship positions (because
it is more cost-effective), mismatch
between education level and jobposition, etcetera.
Secondly, the condition is made worse
by the designers themselves. Simply
for the fact that they accept the
newfound employer ideology (based
in neo-liberalism?) and most
importantly because they disseminate
their ideas into the ether through
"open-competitions". I would argue
that "open-competitions" are one of
the most damaging trends in the
design market. For this I side with
David Harvey's argument. What he
says in his The Right to the City is
this:
"Surplus commodities can lose value or
be destroyed, while productive capacity
and assets can be written down and left
unused; money itself can be devalued
through inflation, and labour through
massive unemployment."
In other words, the over-production of
designs compounded with how the
designs are generated (for free)
render the design, and to a certain
extent, the designer, worthless.
Moreover this phenomena has the
potential of changing the societal
perception of the designer as
nowadays he or she engages in what
essentially is "pro-bono" work (i.e. for
little or no pay).
Thirdly, national policy does little to
ANNA WOJCIK
PETER SMISEK
address these issues. For example,
The Netherlands, one of the
biggest exporters of designers in
the world is struggling with a 50%
national unemployment rate
among young design graduates.
At the same time, the Dutch
schools seem to ignore these facts.
This only adds fuel to the already
burgeoning fire. However, this
issue is one of most facile things
to adjust at a national level
through carefully constructed
control policies that would balance
the supply and demand market.
It all seems very bleak and it is
certainly quite a complex and
sensitive issue that does not seem
to generate definite answers. One
cannot help but trust that with
improved technologies and faster
growth cycles the profession and
its market could have the ability of
reaching a state of equilibrium.
But all in all, possibly all the above
could create an interesting result
for the profession. Conflicts and
contradictions do have the benefit
of spawning evolution by
destroying the status-quo. Can
survival of the fittest prove to be,
time and time again, our last
resort?
Liviu Teodorescu
AGENDA
B NIEUWS 01 2 SEPTEMBER 2013
WEEK 36
WEEK 38
Lecture
Opening academic year
2013-2014
02.09.2013
The workspace of an engineer
has become a global one. Today’s
companies ask for global
leadership, and to become a
global leader you need a global
mind. The speakers will share
their views and experiences on
the subject of the global mind
and global leadership. Is there a
secret to success we can tap
into?
Aula / 15:30
bk.tudelft.nl
Lecture
Dirk van den Heuvel in
The New Institute
05.09.2013
On 5 September next, Dirk van
den Heuvel will deliver a lecture
in The New Institute as part of
the summer programme 'The
Ruin' (De Ruïne'. The lecture
‘Total Recall: The ruins of our
memory’ examines the
complicated relationship
between modern architecture
and history.
Rotterdam, The New Institute /
19:00
nai.nl
Symposium
Beyond Borders
06.09.2013
On 6 September, Bucky lab has a
mini-symposium 'Beyond
Borders'. This symposium brings
together knowledge, expertise
and innovation in the field of
solar shading. Marcel Bilow will
introduce the project Bucky lab
students will be working on this
semester. In addition, experts will
examine various sub-areas, such
as internal solar shading, external
solar shading and managing solar
energy. Various solar shading
products will also be on display.
BKCity, Berlagezaal / 09:30
buckylab.blogspot.nl
SPOT !
T
LIGH
Music
ClublePOP does Japan
WEEK 37
Film
Jour de Fête
09.09.2013
A1949 French comedy film
directed by Jacques Tati. Jour de
Fête tells the story of an inept
and easily distracted French
mailman who frequently
interrupts his duties to converse
with the local inhabitants, as well
as inspect the traveling fair that
has come to his small community.
Delft, Filmhuis Lumen /
students € 7
filmhuis-lumen.nl
Lecture
Anti-Media
13.09.2013
Official launch event for the book
"Anti-Media" by Florian Cramer,
research professor at Hogeschool
Rotterdam and dean of WORM's
01_Kop
Kleur The book is a
Parallel University.
02_Kop
Zwart
collection of
essays on high and
03_DATUM
low
culture, avant-garde and
trash:
17th century experimental
04_Plat
poetry,
05_Infomusic machines, Neonazi
communication
guerilla, Alvin
06_Web
Lucier, Internet porn, anticopyright, creative industries,
01_Kop
KleurMail Art,
post-digitality,
02_Kop
Zwart
Rosicrucianism
and hacker
03_DATUM
cultures,
to name only a few.
04_Plat
Rotterdam,
WORM / 12:00
-05_Info
20:00 / free entrance
06_Web
worm.org
Congres
Omgevingswet
De Praktijkleerstoel Gebiedsontwikkeling van de TU Delft
organiseert in samenwerking met
ROSTRA Congrescommunicatie
de tweede editie van het congres
Omgevingswet.
In gesprek met prominente
vertegenwoordigers van de
verschillende overheden, Natuur
& Milieu en experts uit de praktijk
19.09.2013
For many years now, this snobby
Rotterdam vinyl collective has
been mixing exotic songs with
soulful indiepop in a matchless
way. This time in particular Japan
is the target of these record
players. During this Cluble- POP
edition you may expect tasteful
California Roll with Japanese club
pop and sixties soul pop, as well
as magnificent grooves from the
surrounding countries, such as
Thai and Chinese beat, and
sounds that you can dance to
from South-Korea’s own
Gainsbourg.
Rotterdam, Rotterdamse
Schouwburg/ 20:00 / free
entrance
rotterdamseschouwburg.nl
Debat
De snelweg als
stedelijk theater
22.09.2013
De snelweg kan al sinds zijn
ontstaan rekenen op de aandacht
van ontwerpers met visionaire
plannen. De wegen bieden hen
telkens nieuwe vergezichten op
de toekomst van het stedelijk
landschap. Wat gebeurt er met
de snelwegen als we niet de
vergezichten maar het stedelijk
leven zelf centraal stellen? Hoe
kunnen ze aangename plekken
van verblijf worden die een
logisch onderdeel vormen van
het leven in de stad? Kunstenaars
en ontwerpers gaan hierover met
elkaar in gesprek. Ze tonen in
woord en beeld hun visie op de
snelweg als onderdeel van het
stedelijk theater. AIR
programmeert dit gesprek
speciaal voor het programma van
Festival De Keuze.
Rotterdam, Rotterdamse
Schouwburg, foyer / 19:00
dekeuze.nl
wordt onderzocht of en hoe de
nieuwe Omgevingswet de
dynamiek in gebiedsontwikkeling
gaat vergroten. Welke ruimte
gaat de Omgevingswet aan
initiatieven van overheden,
marktpartijen en burgers bieden?
Wat moet er beter? Hoe kunnen
het beste de vele open kwesties
worden ingevuld?
Woensdag 25 September 2013
stadion Galgenwaard, Utrecht
Annmelden via rostra.nl
WEEK 39
Film
Les Vacances de
Monsieur Hulot
23.09.2013
Pipe-smoking Monsieur Hulot,
Jacques Tati’s endearing clown,
takes a holiday at a seaside resort
where his presence provokes one
catastrophe after another. Tati’s
wildly funny satire of vacationers
determined to enjoy themselves
includes a series of precisely
choreographed sight gags
involving dogs, boats, and
firecrackers. The first entry in the
Hulot series is a masterpiece of
gentle slapstick.
Delft, Filmhuis Lumen /
students € 7
filmhuis-lumen.nl
Lezing
Route Rotterdam
25.09.2013
Mobiliteit en Rotterdam zijn
onlosmakelijk met elkaar
verbonden. De stad van ‘transit’,
van stromen goederen, mensen
en energie. Op tal van plekken
wordt ook nu aan de
Rotterdamse infrastructuur
gebouwd. De totale investering
bedraagt ongeveer 2 miljard
euro. Een investering in mobiliteit
die niet alleen de economie,
maar ook de leefkwaliteit van de
stad en zijn regio als geheel ten
goede moet komen. AIR is
voortdurend op zoek naar
publieke waarden en de potentie
van ontwerp om hieraan bij te
dragen. Hoe passen deze
ontwikkelingen in het verhaal van
Rotterdam? Wat is de publieke
betekenis ervan? Hoe getuigt het
van de bekende Rotterdamse
durf, van experiment? En, hoe
kan goed ontwerp bijdragen aan
de ruimtelijke kwaliteit van ‘route
Rotterdam’?
Rotterdam, Museumpark,
Arminius 'Bovenkamer' / 20:00
/ RSVP
airfoundation.nl
TENTOONSTELLINGEN
Fellini – The Exhibition
Eye Filmmuseum
till 22.09.2013
Cristina de Middel The Afronauts
FOAM / 13.09.2013 - 11.12.2013
Lawrence Weiner
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
21.09.2013 - 05.01.2014
Paulina Olowska
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
21.09.2013 - 27.01.2014
8 PROJECT
B NIEUWS 01 2 SEPTEMBER 2013
RETREAT
IN
NATURE
LAST SEMESTER, STUDENTS IN THE STUDIO BRIDGE
TO ASIA PARTICIPATED IN THE COMPETITION ‘RETREAT IN NATURE’. THE TEAMS PARTICIPATING IN
THE COMPETITION, REPRESENTING A NUMBER OF
UNIVERSITIES, WERE ASKED TO DESIGN A ‘NEXTGENERATION SUSTAINABLE HOUSE’ IN TAIKI-CHO, A
VILLAGE LOCATED ON THE ISLAND OF HOKKAIDO,
JAPAN. THE WINNING TEAM WAS INVITED TO BUILD
THE HOUSE.
Sento Bath & House
Dapeng Sun, Loed Stolte, Tanya Starchenko, Chiara Cirrone
Aims to create a community bath
house, which houses space for individual contemplation on top.
Potato Living
Nico Leferink, Milo Janssen, Natsuki
Takeshita
Imagines a lifestyle centered around
potatoes, to create a building clad
with starch extracted from potatoes
which is grown in the region.
BY IVAN THUNG
Since Hokkaido, a northern island in Japan, is exposed to
warm summers and harsh winters, the theme ‘Retreat in
Nature’ allowed the teams to interpret the notion of sustainability not only in terms of the checks and balances of energy consumption, but as a part as a comprehensive way of
life.
However, the idea of sustainability is these days often used
rhetorically. Stefano Milani, studio coordinator: ‘However
sustainability might present itself as a new kind of legitimizing rationale, it is often not yet clear how to translate this
notion into concrete architectural objects’.
According to the coordinators, doing competitions can be a
way of doing research, too. There is not necessarily a split
between the competitions that are common in practice, and
academic research. Therefore, the projects that have been
made may be seen as a collection of propositions concerning
what sustainability might entail.
One project, for example, sought to recover a forgotten
knowledge of vegetables, which was held by the indigenous
people of Hokkaido. Another project claimed that the whole
theme of ‘retreat in nature’ was irrelevant, since the site the
building was to be build upon was noticeably cultivated. But the project that was elected to be submitted excelled
through its simplicity: a tri-angular roof the walls of which
were cladded with bales of hay, with in the middle a moveable platform that could be driven outside in summer. In the
end, Delft’s team ended third, behind Harvard University,
who won the competition, and Singapore University.
This was the first half of the studio Bridge to Asia. The second half entailed the design of a museum for visual culture
in Hong Kong. The competition was organized by Lixil, a
concrete manufacturer, and was hosted by Tokyo University
who provided the jury, which was presided over by Kengo
Kuma.
facebook.com/lixil.iuac
Fabric House
Guendalina Rocchi, Pola Czynczyk, Marta
Pabel, Gianna Bottema
Translates the adaptive action of
'dressing up' to architecture and creates a bamboo house cladded with different fabrics which allows the house
to adapt to the seasons.
Retreat in Nature?
Rudo Koot, Yann Mu
Claims that at there is no real nature
at the site, and proposes to make a
dome of wooden blocks, in which
images of nature are projected on its
interior walls.
Library for Forgotten Vegetables
Ivan Thung, Roxane van Hoof, Jonathan
Lazar
Creates a storage and harvesting
shed for vegetables that used to be
consumed by indigenous people the
knowledge of which was being lost
after Japanese oppression.
3rd
Simply Adjustable
Judith ten Kate & Nassim Razavian
The project won the third price
at the competition. The jury appreciated the simplicity of the
concept. They claim that to design something sustainable
should be to design a sustainable way of living too. Therefore a
tri-angular house forms the base
protection against natural forces, from which a wooden box
can ride out according to the
season. The house aims to contribute to the well-being of its
inhabitants, which are city
dwellers taking a break from urban life, by communal activities
such as harvesting straw. This
straw is used to insulate the
building further during winter.
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