Nominees arcvisionPrize 2015 (Alcocer – Drost Van Veen)

March 2015

2015 arcVision Prize: in the short list 21 projects from 16 countries and every continent, a revealing snapshot of contemporary female architecture.

 

alcocerAtxu Amann Alcocer – Spain
ammancanovasmaruri
Temperaturas Extremas Arquitectos
Aravaca, Madrid
http://amanncanovasmaruri.blogspot.com.es/

STATEMENT OF THE CANDIDATE’S VISION
Once one reaches maturity, when looking back and thinking about it, one has to recognize the fortune in being an architect. In architecture, the intersection between professional and academic fields produces an enrichment that joins all areas of activity. University is the context where contemporary issues arise; innovation, sustainability, mediation and new communication strategies and instruments are subjects that are analyzed and continually updated to be incorporated into the academic practice or research, and later are used in the daily work at the office, ensuring current methods, tools and language. In reverse, the design and constructive experience acquired in the professional life is shared not only through teaching, but also by giving lectures and participating in seminars and publications in the academic community. In my particular case, I have a special interest in developing experimental actions with students that implies collaborative processes to build alternative constructions with recycled materials, without ecological footprints, as well as other urban actions that that focus on gender and other issues involving an intellectual or ideological position.

PROJECT DATA 82 State subsidized housing
Location
Carabanchel, Madrid, Spain
Use of the Building
Residential
Construction Period
Project: 2005-2007 Completed: May 2009
Awards/Publication
International Restricted Competition First Prize 2005
Asprima Award 2010
COAM Award 2010
FAD Prix selection 2010
BEAU selected 2011
BIA selected 2012

Open to the Four Winds
0. The proposal is not built from the review of the traditional housing block but from the attributes of the slab of minimum width perforated with through holes.
1. This situation of minimum bandwidth allows an inner space of considerable size, a public space in the heart of the project, a space that is half open and connected to the whole sprawl, boldly assuming an ambiguous condition, exterior and interior at the same time.
3. The flat is a house with a yard. This small house garden is linked to the interior of the block, the street and the living room. The yard is a sunny place in the winter and cool place in the summer, with cross views of the inside and outside of the block, the garden and the street, light and shadow.
4. The clustering of dwellings is obtained from mechanical necessities. The interior is made with integrated furniture; versatile space with openings available in the wall. The exterior body is constructed of metal, and therefore acts as a ventilated façade. The building is an ordered set of car bodies whose metallic colors are the choice for users.

PROJECT DATA: Monteagudo Museum
Location
Monteagudo, Murcia, Spain
Use of the Building
Cultural/museum
Construction Period
Project: 2005-2006 Built: 2008-2010
Awards/Publication
Región de Murcia Award 2011
BEAU selected 2011
Piranesi Prix selected 2012

This building is, without doubt, a parasite.
The building is placed on the south side of the hill of Monteagudo and it is the first phase of a project that has its principal focus on the restoration of the castle of Monteagudo. The slope of the mountain is a territory historically occupied since Prehistory with remains that date from the Argaric culture, through Roman and Arab civilizations. In particular, the site chosen for the Visitors Center has some Argaric huts in good state of preservation, a Roman road, and some small walls. In the same place the shrine of San Cayetano from the XVIII century is located, which gives a certain character to the site. The building we have proposed tries to adapt to the multiple context inputs and the preservation of the remains. It also focuses on the consolidation of the place from both formal and dimensional points of view, with special attention to integration into the hillside and its visibility from the castle.
The building is both a route and a parasite bloodsucking the mountain. As a route, it resolves the accesses through ramps that settle accessibility questions and the integration of the piece in the environment. As a parasite, it becomes camouflaged in colors and shapes, with calligraphic skin that covers the building as a whole. The ground floor has a public orientation open to the neighbors. Its steel lattice worked walls, which are sometimes sliding, and the rooms rudely built with concrete, provide shelter and connect to the outside. It is a place in the shade. On the upper floor, the permanent and temporary showrooms are arranged in a closed and tight place, which is open in a careful way to the best views of the valley and the castle. About construction subjects, the building, on the ground floor, the structure is created with exposed concrete and metal shutters. On the top floor it works with a steel structure that solves the long spans and is covered with multiple sheet panels that are sealed with heated waterproofing. Finally, it is covered with a skin of perforated Cor-Ten steel, which works as the final layer in a trans-ventilated facade that takes up that old matter about clima and context.

PROJECT DATA: Deck over a Roman site in El Molinete
Location
Cartagena, Murcia, Spain.
Project Type
Roman site restoration
Use of the Building
Cultural/Museum
Construction Period
Project: October2008-July2009 Built: September2010-November2011
Awards/Publication
International Restricted Competition First Prize 2005
Región de Murcia Award 2002
National Restoration and Cultural Conservation
Award 2012
Mies Award nominated 2012
FAD Prix selected 2012
Región de Murcia Award 2013
BEAU finalist 2013
COAM Luis Moreno Mansilla Award 2013
Piranesi Prix selected 2014

The building is essentially a cover protecting the remains of a Roman assembly (thermal baths, forum and domus) in the archaeological site of Molinete Park in Cartagena, Spain.
This cover is integrated as another piece of the historic area of Cartagena, whose main architectural challenge is to reconcile very different architectures: from the Roman period, passing through Baroque into modernity, making all the interventions resonate together in the neighborhood. It is a transitional element between very diverse urban conditions: in size, material and structure; from the dense city center to the sloping park.
The primary goal of the work is to respect the existing ruins, using a long-span structure, which requires the least amount of support to hold the cover. The intervention unifies all the remains in a single space, allowing a continuous visibility of the whole site. The cover generates a new urban façade in the partition wall.
The project also aims for a sense of lightness, and is conceived as an element that allows light inside. The inner layer is built with a modular system of corrugated multiwall translucent polycarbonate sheets. The outer layer, constructed with perforated steel plates, qualifies the incidence of light and gives a uniform exterior appearance.
Besides the steel structure, the building set includes an elevated walkway parallel to the street that is accessible – like all the built tours – for disabled visitors. It is a very light structure hanging from steel beams. Conceived as a glass box, with a faceted, partially visible geometry, it makes up the street façade and allows a view of the ruins from three meters high, laying out an overall visibility of the Roman ruins.

BIOGRAPHY
October 25, 1961 – Madrid, Spain
An architect since 1987 when she got the Prometheus EEC grant to be trained at the Technische Hochschule in Darmstadt, Germany. She attended postgraduate courses held at the National Institute for Public Administration in 1989 getting the title of European urbanism planner. In 2006, she received her PhD with a gender thesis work in architecture, the first of its kind, entitled “Woman and House”. From 1987 to 2006, she co-directed the Architects Journal of CSCAE, the Confederation of Architects Associations, in addition to having directed and coordinated many other publications for such an agency. Professor since 1988 at the Public University in Madrid (ETSAM), she currently belongs to the Department of Ideation where she teaches different subjects in both grade and postgraduate courses, with special reference to configuration and communication of architectural design, housing, gender and other issues. For her activity as a teacher and as the leader of the educational innovation group “Hypermedia” she received the UPM innovation teaching award in 2009 from the Madrid Polytechnic University. Moreover, she is the head researcher of a university team focused on developing actions and investigations vis-à-vis women, housing and communication in architecture. Besides, she belongs to the “Real and Imaginary Cities“ group, with the Universidad Complutense of Madrid. Regarding her professional life – closely linked to the academic and research fields – she created the Extreme Temperatures office together with Andres Canovas and Nicolas Maruri, her partners since 1987: their comprehensive work has received numerous awards and recognition (National Culture 2012 Award by the Spanish Government) and has been the subject of several publications, exhibitions and lectures at various universities in Spain and abroad. Mother of four children, she succeeds in managing her work and her family activities; moreover, she is actively engaged in an intellectual fight in different areas to achieve equality, justice and dignity, with special focus on groups of people that are historically considered as social outcasts.

suashini

Suhasini Ayer-Guigan – India
Architecture Depot
Tamil Nadu, India.
www.aurovilledesign.com

STATEMENT OF THE CANDIDATE’S VISION

• Designing is taking responsibility for your imagination
• Beauty and aesthetics in the built and natural environment is essential for healthy living. Minimalism is an integral part of designing to create simple and elegant forms in keeping with the sustainable and green building practices.
• The space user/developer is part of the design team and not just a client. We seek active and informed participation with our clients.
• The planning and design should be most appropriate to the context – site conditions, function, climate, culture, building materials and technology, ease of execution, cost effectiveness and environment responsibility.

PROJECT DATA: SOLAR KITCHEN

Location
AUROVILLE, TAMIL NADU, INDIA
Project Type
DEMONSTRATION PROJECT IN SOLAR THERMAL ENERGY, SOLAR PASSIVE WITH INTEGRATED WASTE MANGEMENT AND EARTH CONSTRUCTION
Use of the Building
It is a community dining space serving 700 lunches + 200 dinners on site along with cooking and delivering lunches for 7 local schools
Construction Period
July 1995 – November 1998
Awards/Publication
Published in various Indian magazines (IAB / DT / A&D), publications of the ministry of renewable energy India, and some art books on Architecture

Solar kitchen Auroville project
The aim of the project was to build a demonstration project
• In the use of SOLAR THERMAL ENERGY in steam generation, which in the case of this project will be used for cooking meals 3 times a day for about 1000 people. The solar bowl with 15 mts dia with 225 m2 of mirror surface was designed and built to work as a hybrid system to find a more sustainable way to generate the heat required to cook rather than 100% dependency on conventional energy.
• To support the organic farming sector of Auroville and the local villages by being the main purchaser for their products, the local produce and grains are given priority in the menu for the meals prepared in the kitchen.
• To provide for the nutritional needs of the present community of Auroville (1800 inhabitants approx) including the meals at the schools, work places and for special occasions.
• To be a demonstration project for appropriate building materials and technology, Solar Passive Architecture and Waste Water Recycling. The building is made of compressed Earth blocks/ferrocement. The building design is adapted to a hot, humid, coastal climate to minimize the need for electro-mechanical energy for lighting and ventilation while all the waste water is recycled using a biological gravity process using plants/vortex, and some of the organic waste is composted on site with demonstration vegetable gardens, while the balance is sent to Auroville farms and dairies as cow feed and farm composting.

PROJECT DATA: CENTRE FOR INDIAN STUDIES

Location
AUROVILLE, TAMIL NADU, INDIA
Project Type
Architectural design project
Use of the Building
Offices for post doc researchers on Indian culture and philosophy
– Library
– Conference and seminar rooms
– Residences for visiting scholars and researchers
– Archives and documentation center for original manuscripts and works
Construction Period
– Phase 1 – January 2011 – march 2013
– Phase 2 – April 2014 – March 2015 (under construction)
Awards/Publication
Unpublished yet as we have not completed the total project.

Centre of Indian Studies- Bharat Nivas. The project is designed to be a building envelope that will frame the space between the existing Sri Aurobindo Auditorium, the Kala Kendra (art center) exhibition space, and the magnificent boddhi tree that is present near these two buildings to form a plaza. The long and low volume of the building is a play of voids that will visually link the plaza to the large trees on the north. The design of spaces strives to be simple, minimal and tropical with a play of materials between rammed earth walls, waste stone strips from stone cutting factories, and exposed concrete. The play of vistas connecting the space to the natural landscape is achieved with large punctures through the building with bridges and walkways. The trees are integrated with minimal intervention landscaping to allow for informal outdoor study and meeting spots. The intent is to allow the user to all times be in direct contact with the abundant nature all around the building, including the canyon that flows with rain water during the monsoon with the indigenous draught-resistant ground cover planted along the edges to prevent soil erosion. The building is elevated from the ground level to enhance its transparency, while the built up volumes are a play of texture and color between earth, stone and exposed concrete. The natural materials used for all the finishes, including wood from the trees affected by the cyclone of 2012, allow it to blend in with the older buildings.

The main focal spaces in the building are devoted to

– A seminar space for 40 -50 people
– A resource library with the archives of Sri Aurobindo’s works
– Study and work spaces for resident researchers and teachers
– 2 Studio apartments for researchers and a fraternity house for students
– Administrative offices with 10-12 person meeting room including ancillary facilities like pantry
– Transition spaces that are open to the gardens for exhibitions / study spaces / small group works and performing spaces

PROJECT DATA: “Elsewhere” a farm house for Minoti
Location
Jaunapur, New Delhi, India
Project Type
Architectural design project
Use of the Building
Family house and farm
Construction Period
2010 – 2014

The site for the project is a long and narrow rectangular plot of land, with the long ends oriented east–west, while the buildings needed to be oriented north-south to minimize the heat intake in the summer (maximum temperature touching 47° C). This meant the building would fragment the perspective, as they would be dividing the land by their orientation. This farmhouse was designed to be as transparent and open as possible to blend into the landscape that has open grassy vistas with clumps of shrubs and trees framing the land. The vaulted brick roofs of the building float over a swimming pool with the central part of the house acting as a bridge between the public spaces such as living/dining/kitchen with the private spaces like bedrooms and studies. At the same time, the building envelope design would ensure that the openings were well shaded to prevent heat build up in the summer and loss of heat in the summer. The windows are deep set with shaded verandas circling the house. The wrap around verandas overlooking the sunken court/pool and the ornamental water bodies create a micro-climate of an oasis in the hot-dry composite climate of the region. The building materials are exposed concrete, bricks, stone, and wood; unadorned and yet soft and inviting. The intimate scale of the spaces lends itself to rural lifestyle without losing the elegance of refined spaces.

BIOGRAPHY
October 17, 1961 – Mumbai, India
Graduated from the Delhi School of Planning and Architecture, she has been living in Auroville since 1985 and is one of the co-founders of the “Auroville Centre for Scientific Research”, an organization dedicated to research and experimentation in the field of appropriate building materials and technologies, water management, renewable energy and solar passive / climatic architecture and sustainable urban planning.

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bilbaoTatiana Bilbao – Mexico
Tatiana Bilbao S.C.
Cuauhtémoc, México
www.tatianabilbao.com

STATEMENT OF THE CANDIDATE’S VISION

We do architecture to raise the human quality of life.
We work with our environment, our surrounding materials, hand labor and techniques, opening channels of communication between the various social sectors, and develop productive activities that enable different aesthetic experiences with strong ideas and direct definitions and intentions.
We try to understand, though our multicultural and multidisciplinary office, our world, and to translate its rigid codes into architecture.
Through these strands, the office regenerates spaces “humanized” to be aware and react to global capitalism, opening up niches for cultural and economic development, creating a climate of collaboration where there are various disciplinary resonances in technical areas; theoretical and artistic works which, in one way or another affect the patterns and structures of society.
The office associates work to the theme of resonance, which matches the frequency of a given system with the frequency of an external drive, with certain information generated by another system.
As with the ethics of otherness of Levinas, the office incorporates the other, which has not been recognized or accepted by the intellectual, political, or business oligarchy, but that is on the lookout for a qualitative change in structural life. To this end we are building with the responsibility of understanding all that we do and we mean to do, learning though it and working with it.

PROJECT DATA: Popular Housing
Location
Prototype adjustable for all México
Project Type
Prototype of minimum housing
Use of the Building
Dwelling
Construction Period
2014

The objective of this project is to design a prototype of popular housing with quality material and space, at an affordable price. The life we develop in our houses is not uniform, homogenous or steady. The different needs that appear along the life may require the adaptation of space in order to continue living in terms of adequate housing, adjusted to the economy, the use of space, the expense of energy and the environment in which the house is located.
The prototype would adjust intensively, occupying the land from the nuclear core of the house according to the family growth the house. From here the concept of “progressive growth” for the dwelling is developed, in which the growth would have a limit but it would be possible to accommodate the diversity of the social and biological needs of the family. Also, it would be possible to reduce the capacity of the house or even divide the house into two different spaces.
The project could be applied in large housing developments, going against the monotonous and uniform existing complexes. We want to generate units with the capability of adaptation to the diversity and multiplicity of the population. Therefore, the project could have variations in program, plans and materiality with the purpose of obtaining a greater diversity that can fit the different needs of the country.

PROJECT DATA: JINHUA ARQUITECTURE PARK

Location
Jinhua, Zheiuiang, China
Use of the Building
EXHIBITION ROOM
Construction Period
2006

In Chinese gardens, the observation point is determined in advance, and the visitor is guided by the garden itself. Pathways, corridors, bridges, tunnels, pavilions or towers are just some of the elements that are used as a navigation system for the visitor to move through the garden. At the same time, is really complicated for us to understand the garden, because it cannot be completely appreciated from any point. This condition creates various garden sections that can be discovered and enjoyed gradually. We can walk through a stone pathway looking at peaceful water ponds just for reaching a pavilion where we look at the garden again, getting a completely new view of the site. The garden is composed as a series of scenes, one after the other without revealing the complete composition. These scenes create a really complex design, but the design itself does not stand out for its physical composition, but rather for the experiences created A Chinese garden becomes a collection of timeless experiences forming a complex net of happenings. This exhibition room is composed the same way. From the very beginning, a route is defined, and despite the fact that this route is continuous and determined in advance, it is formed by the fragmentation and multiplication of temporal space: a collection of experiences. Each one of these experiences is formed by different architectural elements, including a specific view, a material, an exterior peel, or even just light. In order to translate the Chinese garden into architecture and recreate a “broken time” experience, we decided to use a fragmented topography, that in addition to the logical route established, creates an attractive space, full of small and mysterious details to be found. The final exhibition room is a place full of surprises where everybody can discover tunnels and terraces. An open plaza guides the visitor towards the building, allowing the possibility of having a continuous public space, which also separates interior and exterior spaces. The final result is so flexible that it allows expositions, lectures, parties or any kind of event to happen.

PROJECT DATA: VENTURA HOUSE

Location
Nuevo Leon, Mexico.
Project Type
Family house
Use of the Building
Residential
Construction Period
2008-2011

In this project we faced a unique situation; we already had the task of designing a family house on a site more than 10,000 m2 with complicated slope topography and thus a naturally extreme environment. Located in a Monterrey suburb, this site is completely rough with a panoramic view of the city. Some of the client’s requirements to consider were: to make a single story house, a radical division between public and private spaces, and the proper orientation to favor energy savings. The site reminds us of the image of the modernist houses of the 50s, as photographed by Julius Schulman. This reference was a starting point and an inspiration to begin our design. The design develops from three elements: a functional diagram of the space needed, a pentagon, and the topography. Each area of the program is enclosed in a pentagon, which is placed according to a path on the topography. Each geometric form is adjusted to allow the free transit of people and spatial continuity. The five sides of the pentagon are gradually deformed until being part of the slope and change position upwards and sideways to arrange the necessary areas, achieve a path, and enhance the view. The public spaces of the house are mounted over the flatter and more pleasant part of the land, and we took advantage of the topography to create a space for free transit. Even though the area is not at the same level, the level changes are reduced to the minimum in order to maintain the topography. The private areas join together with the ground, which makes them completely frilled from the landscape. Both spaces are intertwined with a spiral staircase and the course between the spaces is made with ease; finally we can walk around the house like a Moebius strip. The proposal generated with this process turns into a dynamic interior space that constantly changes its level and alters the space geometrically by experimenting with a specific path around the house. This path starts with the main access and continues all around the house in a free and interrupted manner. The result is an infinite transit, which starts and ends at the same point making the space quite legible. The final result could be compared to the growth and position of several types of funguses, which grow horizontally on the tree’s cortex protruding as a cantilever. These funguses live from the trees, grow on them, and somehow become part of them. This natural reference lets us adjust the house to the topography. Thus, instead of creating a house that is over the hillside, we build a house that is part of it, grows from it and becomes part of the composition of the natural environment. The materials are determined by the structural and climatic needs of the site. Thus, we decided to use concrete in its most apparent and natural form, creating a sense of belonging to the location. The house builds up like another cliff looking like a protuberance or a fractal from the same slope. The natural elements from the place and the tectonics are finished with openings that allow the passing of light, which is part of the experience and sketches the spatial dynamics of the building. The Ventura House is more than a house, is a lab of architectonic experiences which only intention is to create a pleasant family life, which responds to the joyful and dynamic life the family lives and needs.

BIOGRAPHY
1972 – Mexico City, Mexico
Tatiana Bilbao studied Architecture and Urbanism at Universidad Iberoamericana in 1996, where she obtained her degree with honors. She has developed projects of architecture and urbanism in diverse fields, both public and private. She worked as an advisor for Urban Projects at the Urban Housing and Development Department of Mexico City and in 1999 she joined and co-founded LCM S.C. In 2004 she founded Tatiana Bilbao S.C. with projects in China, Europe and Mexico. Tatiana was awarded with the Design Vanguard as one of the Top 10 emerging firms of the year in 2007 by Architecture Record and named as Emerging Voice by the Architecture League of New York in 2009.
In December 2010, three projects were acquired by the George Pompidou Centre in Paris, France, to be part of their Architectural Permanent Collection. She has been visiting professor at Andres Bello University in Santiago de Chile, at Peter Behrens School of Architecture, Düsseldorf, Germany. Starting in Spring 2015, she is going to be Louis I. Kahn visiting assistant professor at Yale. Her work has been published, among others, in A+U, Plot, GA Houses, Domus and The New York Times.

 

appolonia

Giulia De Appolonia – Italy
abda srl architetti botticini – de appolonia & associati
Pordenone
www.deappolonia-arch.com

STATEMENT OF THE CANDIDATE’S VISION:

Despite a current trend that increasingly interprets architecture as a discipline intended to determine the image of the building and not its substance, I believe that the central role of the architect is to direct and coordinate the various disciplines that contribute to the design of a building.
In this way she/he is able to synergistically achieve a valuable result simultaneously along the technical, aesthetic, and spatial dimensions.
This coordinator role necessarily relies on the ability and intelligence to fill and grasp the existing conditions, to “listen” in silence to the site, history, people and engineers, and to produce a 360 degree response.
From this perspective architecture is a social discipline that plays the fundamental role of shaping all the spaces of our everyday lives that eventually affect the activities taking place within them.
I strongly believe that this focus and projection on the end-user distinguishes architecture from any other artistic discipline.

PROJECT DATA: Viva Science Center

Location
Bragança, Portugal
Project Type
Design project, interior design, energy concept
(with Guilherme cCarrilho da Graça)
Use of the Building
Research, interactive exhibition rooms, cyber café
Construction Period
2005 – 2007
AWARDS
2011 Shortlisted project for the Mies Van Der Rohe Award, Barcelona
2010 Finalist project for the A-Prize Award, Milan
2010 Mentioned project within the category “Best Project” for the Inarsind Award, Brescia
2009 Finalist project for the Golden Medal of Italian Architecture
2009 Mentioned project for the International Award for Sustainable Architecture, Ferrara
2008 Mentioned project for the Arches Award (Architecture Under 40)
2006 Shortlisted project for the Accademia Nazionale di San Luca Award (Young Architects Roma)

The project area is characterized by a very low elevation profile in relation to the historic core, which surrounds the castle, by a strong physical proximity with the water, and by its important hinge role across several public paths, re-qualified with the Polis Program. The project area brings to light a solution of a building-as-a-path, which offers to the city its upper coverings as viable structures, configured in ramps so as to guarantee all necessary altitude connections.
The museum area is a big square of contemplation, establishing a relationship with the city and the river.
The architectural idea can be therefore summarized in the creation of a large “sheet” of concrete, which rests on slender steel profiles, and appears completely suspended on the glass facade, thanks to the structural stiffening conferred by the folds applied to the roof, which create the parapets that lighten the supports.
The building interior structure is characterized by the definition of two large exhibition halls, whose volumetric features and natural lighting are different. Moreover, the connective supporting space is designed as an open space that runs indoor, between the two rooms and outdoor seamlessly.
The indoor/outdoor limit dematerializes on the glass surfaces of the facade, by expanding the interior space up to the containment walls of the ground, and by blending the interior with the exterior landscape into a single substance.
In the new CCVB, the principles of sustainable architecture coexist with a smart handling of those energy sources indispensable for the definition of a high-quality indoor environment.
Visitors can review the operations of the different systems and interact with them: by using a simple graphical user interface they can understand how the different air conditioning elements work while seeing them in action inside the building itself.

PROJECT DATA: Primary School Giacomo Zanella

Location
Villafranca, Verona, Italy
Project Type
Energy improvement, renovation and new construction
Use of the Building
Primary school, gymnasium and canteen.
Construction Period
2014 – 2015

The school consists of two separate buildings initially linked together. The first one, built in the 1950s, is organized on one floor of classrooms and toilets. The second building, from the 1970s, is organized in three floors: a basement available as multipurpose open space/gym, a mezzanine floor, and a first floor with classrooms and services.
The project involves the demolition of the oldest building and the creation of a new volume on the same ground in a recessed space. The development of the building parallel to the main street gives the opportunity to redefine the general image of the school from the point of greatest visibility, and to relocate the entrance, moving it to the secondary street where traffic is less dangerous. The building is a sort of “inhabited wall” that protects the school space from the presence of the street. The simple and contemporary materials—exposed concrete throughout the basement and the first floor, and polycarbonate for the classrooms volume on the first floor—declare the public nature of the intervention, setting the building apart from the neighborhood’s detached plastered houses. The use of color in the polycarbonate panels introduces a playful theme relating to the world of children, who are the primary users of the building. In the new building you find four classrooms and the library in the 1st floor, the hall and canteen on the ground floor, and a new gym with changing rooms in the basement. The existing building that was not demolished continued serving as “the school” throughout the duration of the construction work for the new building. It was partially renovated during the last summer (interior space) and is going to be completely restored in its casing next summer. Its facades are treated with a second skin of vertical polycarbonate strips, which create a formal connection with the new expansion.

PROJECT DATA: Enlargement of Induno Olana Cemetery

Location
Induno Olana, Varese, Italy
Use of the Building
Volumetric addition that contains columbaria and family chapels
Construction Period
2012 – 2012

The new extension for the cemetery of Induno Olona (VA, Italy) is a volumetric addition to an existing cemetery designed in the nineteenth century by Carlo Maciachini, creator of the Monumental Cemetery in Milan.
The project is the first phase of a larger extension flanking for about 100 meters the north edge of the existing graveyard. The part built so far is a 40-meter-long, two-story massive volume, which contains 360 columbaria and several family chapels. The new volume creates a surprising scenographic effect.
From a distance, it creates a white backdrop for the existing burial ground. From the back of the existing cemetery’s former external wall, it disguises a covered space providing natural light on the new part.
The relationship between the existing outdoor space and the inside of the extension is mediated by the façade system.
Constructed by means of Carrara white marble, the vertical panels of the façade generate plays of natural light on the inside, taking advantage of the direct light from the south. The pavement and columbarium units are clad with mat polished Carrara marble, which confers a pale white-azure appearance to the surfaces. In this project the choice and use of materials are crucial in achieving both the adequate solemnity for a funerary place and establishing a clear dialogue with the existing cemetery.
This new extension relies on the use of pure volumes, white walls and simple monolithic shapes to achieve an aura of solemnity, connecting with the existing configuration in forms, materials, and also in terms of symbolism.
It continues the lines and proportions of the existing arcades, but with different material and colors.
The goal is to interpret ancestral concepts such as the “suspension of time and space related to the notion of death” by means of a contemporary language.

BIOGRAPHY
April 8, 1969 – Pordenone, Italy
She enrolled at the Facoltà di architettura, Politecnico di Milano in 1988. In 1991/92 she was awarded the Erasmus programme scholarship to attend FAULT in Lisbon. In 1993/94, she was awarded the Comett scholarship (architects J.L. Carrilho da Graça/Arch. F. Silva Dias). She graduated in architecture with honors (cum laude) in 1994. She resided in Portugal from 1991 to 2004. In 1993 she began her professional career, collaborating with architect J.L.Carrilho da Graça, Lisbon. This collaboration lasted until the year 2000. She mainly worked on large public projects (museums, schools, libraries, sports facilities, etc.) and on the restoration and reuse of listed monumental buildings. In 2001, she started collaborating, as a university professor, with ”Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa”. In 2000, she opened her own office in Lisbon. Her most important project is the Viva Cience Center in Bragança (Portugal-international competition, 1° prize), built between 2005 and 2007. In 2005, she moved back to Italy to open a new office in Pordenone. She participated in several tenders and won the international competition for the Congress Centre of the “Istituto Zooprofilattico”, Brescia, in 2005. In 2008, she created the “ABDA srl” firm with Camillo Botticini, developing national and international projects that brought her substantial visibility and recognition. Among the most important buildings she worked at are the Multifunctional Building in Assago (housing complex, educational complex and university facilities) in Milan, and led to winning an international competition in Portugal (Urban park and facilities in Arcos de Valdevez- 2011) In 2014 she opened her own firm – “Giulia de Appolonia – Officina di architettura” – in Brescia.

 

des clics

Des Clics et Des Calques – France
Camille Besuelle,
Nathalie Couineau,
Mathilde Jauvin
Pantin, France
http://www.femmes-archi.org/

STATEMENT OF THE CANDIDATE’S VISION

Des Clics et des Calques is a team of three young architects from the same architecture school: Paris-Belleville. We are involved with different studios in Paris, but also in Mexico and Chile, which feed the collective through the creation of several project approaches. After graduation we began to work with agencies while increasing participatory experiences, looking for alternatives and involvement. Then, the first commissions from private clients started coming in as were getting involved in ideas competitions. After this, the collective began a community housing project of 13 units in Pantin. We decided to set up our premises as part of this project. We are naturally attracted to projects in which human and environmental dimensions play a central role. Each project becomes an exploration of concepts already present, taking advantage of the materials and economy in order to tell new stories.
In the summer of 2013 we made a tour to participate in conferences in several architecture universities in Colombia (Bogota, Medellin, Cali, Armenia) as part of the AJAP exhibition. We were also invited to take part in an artistic residency in the Quindío, where we developed a bamboo participatory construction with the inhabitants of an Indian village community.

PROJECT DATA: Melrose sheds
Location
Pantin, Seine-Saint-Denis, France
Project Type
Transformation of an industrial warehouse
Use of the Building
13 housings and an office (ours)
Construction Period
2012 – 2013

This is the history of a project of residences in self-promotion, auto-assembly, and self-management, and a superb opportunity for young architects in search of a first housing project who are attracted by industrial fabric. The instructions were the following: To “do it yourself”, to gather the purchasers, to assemble a real estate company, to distribute the batches, to estimate the costs, to convince the condominium, the town hall, etc.
Not far from the Canal de l’Ourcq and the Grands Moulins, in an industrial district undergoing significant changes, this warehouse was built in the fifties right in the heart of the block. Faithfull to industrial typologies, it occupies the entire piece and takes its light from large directed saw-teeth full north. To transform while keeping the spirit of the place, this was the challenge. The intervention slips under a metal and concrete skeleton, thus playing with existing materials. The residences are organized around a principal court and secondary courses exits of the demolition of part of the roofs. Each housing unit is different since they are made custom-tailored for each owner, down to even its outdoor area. User-friendliness, life of the area, and mutualization are the key words of such a project, in which the inhabitants, beginning at the initial phase, decide how to live together.

PROJECT DATA: Port sa mère

Location
Puertio Sanmario, Quindio, Colombia
Project Type
Self-construction, community project
Use of the Building
“casa del pensamiento” – House of the thinking
Construction Period
August 2013

We have been invited to spend a month and half in an artistic residency called “Residencia en la tierra”, located in Quindío, to the south-west of Colombia, a place to share ideas and thoughts with other artists. A meeting with an Indian community led us to the desire to build a project with them. Puerto Samaria is a unique street, about ten bamboo houses made by the inhabitants themselves, about 50 people with only one drill, one screwdriver, one hammer, and a very strong desire to get their own place to host their culture, handicraft, medicine, and activities: la casa del pensamiento. In this village so close to a river, finding one m² can be complicated. In the end, we decided to dismember a small one-story construction in order to make room to transform it into the new two-story construction. The intervention aims to bring together both popular and professional knowledge. To raise this construction to almost 60m², we disposed of a carpentry workshop a few kilometers from the village. Prefabrication is an opportunity to experiment the way to assemble bamboo, called “boca pescado”. To secure the construction, we put concrete into the junctions, inside the hollow bamboo. Then the whole structure, divided into 4 façades each about 3m by 6m, was brought by truck to the village and constructed in days, with militaries giving a hand with this heavy structure full of concrete while the other artists were making a huge embroidered fresco to decorate the new space during a workshop with women and children. In the village we organized a “minga”, a kind of community work, to lay out the floor, the Foundation, and the first floor structure. A band was invited to support the workers during a big soup party on the last day.

PROJECT DATA: Dans ma benne, benne, benne

Location
Louvres, Val d’Oise, France
Project Type
Transformation of an industrial heritage
Use of the Building
Recycling industry house
Construction Period
Restrictive competition of idea (8 teams invited)

“EPA Plaine de France launches a call for ideas to imagine the development and becoming of a grain silo, a remarkable industrial heritage of the Ile-de-France built in the early 1950s, and in a double logic of agricultural heritage of the territory and integration into a future eco-district in 3500 new housing. This call opens opportunities for participants to art and architecture, and let free to purpose new uses.” Turning an agro-industrial symbol – grain silos – into a recycling industry symbol. Collect/develop/raise awareness: “Big Benne” is a pole of reflection, education, innovation and encounters about waste. Its issue is social, and the aim is to develop a social and solidarity economy. Between storages, workshops, shops and gallery, Big Benne take delivery, sort, stock, repair and transform, market, show, educate, and search. Big benne, the great ressourcerie (“Network dedicated to the reduction and prevention of waste, preparation for recycling. This network also aims at social and professional integration”). Today waste has become the new mass production. It is a big issue for cities, with more than 60% of waste sent to rubbish or incinerators. How to reduce this impact? The stake is economic, political, and social. So we asked the question of waste storage, their pooling is necessary: waste large numbers can be valued. Then it is to accept the presence of waste in the core of the city: more than a warehouse out of town/in the suburbs, it is a central building we need. The verticality of the silos allows highlighting. Beyond the aesthetic interest it is also limiting our waste production as a result of systematic demolition.

BIOGRAPHY
Camille BESUELLE
Architect- des Clics et des Calques
Camille Besuelle entered the Paris-Belleville architecture school in the same year as Mathilde Jauvin, meeting right at the start of their studies. In 2005, they went their separate ways – with Erasmus placement for Mathilde in Santiago, Chile, while Camille opted for mentoring at the university. The experience gained by Mathilde had a strong participatory bias: she followed a travelling exhibition in Creuse, with visits and workshops for CAUE 93 (the St-Denis architecture, urban planning and environment council). In late 2008, their trio with Nathalie Couineau began to gain experience in an informal way through various private commissions and then in design competitions – sometimes winning them outright (Arpafil in Mexico), and often attracting attention (Europan 2010 and 2011). So, do they tend more towards the modern (the ‘clic’ or click) or the traditional (the ‘calque’ or sketch)? In fact their aim is to move beyond the dichotomy of traditional vs. modern. Their projects engage with their surroundings in a way that is both respectful and uncompromising. Every project becomes an exploration drawing on what is already in place and using materials to tell new stories. They have no hesitation in crossing boundaries: turning their hand to carpentry, landscaping and performance for a festival in Amiens or forming the mainstay of a group residential project – restructuring an industrial warehouse in Pantin to initiate a commission for themselves and establish their own practice.

BIOGRAPHY
Nathalie COUINEAU
Architect – des Clics et des Calques
Nathalie Couineau entered the Paris-Belleville architecture school in the same year as Camille Besuelle and Mathilde Jauvin, meeting right at the start of their studies. In 2005, they went their separate ways – with Erasmus placement for Mathilde in Santiago, Chile, while Camille opted for mentoring at the university. The experience gained by Mathilde had a strong participatory bias: she followed a travelling exhibition in Creuse, with visits and workshops for CAUE 93 (the St-Denis architecture, urban planning and environment council). In late 2008, their trio with Nathalie Couineau began to gain experience in an informal way through various private commissions and then in design competitions – sometimes winning them outright (Arpafil in Mexico), and often attracting attention (Europan 2010 and 2011). So, do they tend more towards the modern (the ‘clic’ or click) or the traditional (the ‘calque’ or sketch)? In fact their aim is to move beyond the dichotomy of traditional vs. modern. Their projects engage with their surroundings in a way that is both respectful and uncompromising. Every project becomes an exploration drawing on what is already in place and using materials to tell new stories. They have no hesitation in crossing boundaries: turning their hand to carpentry, landscaping and performance for a festival in Amiens or forming the mainstay of a group residential project – restructuring an industrial warehouse in Pantin to initiate a commission for themselves and establish their own practice.

BIOGRAPHY
Mathilde JAUVIN
Architect – des Clics et des Calques
Mathilde Jauvin entered the Paris-Belleville architecture school in the same year that Camille Besuelle, meeting right at the start of their studies. In 2005, they went their separate ways – with Erasmus placement for Mathilde in Santiago, Chile, while Camille opted for mentoring at the university. The experience gained by Mathilde had a strong participatory bias: she followed a travelling exhibition in Creuse, with visits and workshops for CAUE 93 (the St-Denis architecture, urban planning and environment council). In late 2008, their trio with Nathalie Couineau began to gain experience in an informal way through various private commissions and then in design competitions – sometimes winning them outright (Arpafil in Mexico), and often attracting attention (Europan 2010 and 2011). So, do they tend more towards the modern (the ‘clic’ or click) or the traditional (the ‘calque’ or sketch)? In fact their aim is to move beyond the dichotomy of traditional vs. modern. Their projects engage with their surroundings in a way that is both respectful and uncompromising. Every project becomes an exploration drawing on what is already in place and using materials to tell new stories. They have no hesitation in crossing boundaries: turning their hand to carpentry, landscaping and performance for a festival in Amiens or forming the mainstay of a group residential project – restructuring an industrial warehouse in Pantin to initiate a commission for themselves and establish their own practice.

 

DEUBER

Angela Deuber – Switzerland
Angela Deuber Architect
Chur
http://www.angeladeuber.com

STATEMENT OF THE CANDIDATE’S VISION

Architecture today is defined less by beauty than it is by ugliness. We should begin architecture with a longing, a desire, an idea. We got lost in the complexity of architecture. Architecture is the backdrop for a piece of life for a society. When we build in the narrower sense, we build our life at the same time in the wider sense. We should take the physical boundaries seriously again. Most things we build make our environment not better but worse. We live in a time in which it is predominantly impossible to understand how things are made. We should be able to understand how something is made intuitively. Construction is an underestimated and intrinsic part of architecture, but since we no longer build with our hands, construction has become indirect, remote and alien. My work is an attempt to escape this alienation. The baseless separation of the idea and the execution degrades architecture. Creation and construction need to be inseparable. As architects, we have a great responsibility in society that we should take more seriously.

PROJECT DATA: House on the Hebridean Island
Location
Isle of Harris, Scotland (UK)
Use of the Building
Residence
Construction Period
2013 – present
Awards/Publication
11/2014 Exhibition at the Whitespace Gallery, Edinburg (UK) + Publication Catalogue

House on the Hebridean Island of Harris, Scotland, UK. The house is part of the rugged lunar landscape of the east side of the Isle of Harris. From the west, the house appears as a large roof floating on top of a long wall. It sits in a recessed plateau bounded by large rocky outcrops, lochans and the bay, dropping gradually to an unencumbered view of the Atlantic Ocean. The ground floor is characterized by a long wall dividing the plan into two distinct areas: in the north the private areas and to the south the dining room. The east-west oriented roof space, containing the fireplace, is defined by a continuous horizontal window, providing an all-round view of the surrounding landscape. The space is 6.05 meters high at its apex and the floor sits 45 cm below the sill, giving the impression of being rooted into the ground. The interiors are optimal, minimal, and poetic. The structure consists of a 5.10 meter high roof with deep overhanging eaves, a long wall, three columns, one core, and a direct stair, which together form a totality. By synthesizing the structure and the interiors, three very different worlds are created in an extremely minimal space. Being in this house is to be forgotten but perfectly secure and free.

PROJECT DATA: New school in Thal
Location
Thal, Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland
Use of the Building
Primary school and Kindergarten
Construction Period
2009 – 2013
Awards/Publication
1st prize. Awarded in exhibitions, published in Books, Journals and Daily press

Together with the existing Church, the recently completed school in Thal forms the new center of the village. It stands in the middle of a uniformly sloping plot whose incline adjusts each of the elevations independently. The plot is divided diagonally into an orchard on the lower slope and a paved area on the upper. Seen from the road, the new primary school and kindergarten sits in a green landscape accessible from the street via steps or the natural rise of the site. The structure consists of a column and slab system split by the fissure created for insulation. The exterior expression is an articulated façade that, united with the internal structure, supports the weight of the concrete slabs. Both carry structural loads and are constructionally interdependent. The classrooms are divided by non-structural slurried clay block walls, which can be removed according to the school’s future requirements. The light grey concrete façade has a strong physical presence. Supported by stout internal columns, exaggerated lintels open up toward the corners and middle of the structural floor slabs, where Larch window frames are allowed to reach the full height of the room. The thickness of the wall and the triangular geometry of the openings produce a spatial experience that is modulated according to one’s position in the building: the interiority in the center is relieved nearing the edge, allowing the view to dissolve into the open. The building is a low-energy building. The requirements of future projects influenced the expression of the building. The solution is economical, with both a maximum freedom of use and an adaption for the users, creating a high degree of identity. Materials from the region were used to generate low pollution, as well as pollution-free building materials. Due to the compact volume and the high quality building insulation, little energy is consumed, and is instead produced by the building itself. It has a low demand for land surface and the existing green area was replaced again.

PROJECT DATA: Multi-purpose hall Seefeld
Location
Buochs, Nidwalden, Switzerland
Use of the Building
Triple multi-purpose hall with stage
Construction Period
2012 – 2014
Awards/Publication
1st prize, recommendation for execution

Situated in the center of the site, the new multi-purpose hall is clearly oriented towards the Seefeldstrasse and the lake. A generous, partly covered plaza marks the main entrance, providing a platform for outdoor events, and its large ramp creates a relationship with a proposed new marina and water sports center. The slender and compact construction integrates itself with a filigree rhythmic roof design in the scale and geometry of the environment.
The entire supporting structure of the roof is built with prefabricated concrete quatercircel elements, used as a supporting and space-forming material. Natural light is admitted from above the curved, almost curtain-like roof structure with its horizontal window openings, assuring a uniform and glare-free daylighting of public spaces, even when the hall is divided. The bearing outer shell of the building takes both the vertical and horizontal loads of the prefabricated roof elements. The floor plate and the resulting base are above the groundwater level and allow significant cost savings. The very economical volume and the proportions of the volume are possible thanks to the simple and efficient floor plan organization. The building will be sustainably constructed as a low-energy building.
The building is organized in a clear and simple way. A central triple hall is bookended by the foyer on one side and by the stage on the other side, all of which can be freely opened and inter-connected. The clear zoning of uses in the plan corresponds to the concept of space, which guarantees a good orientation and maximum flexibility. From the foyer, a curved staircase leads to the first floor dressing rooms and spectators’ area. A large structural opening provides an unobstructed view across the lake from the foyer on both levels.

BIOGRAPHY
June 6, 1975 – Bad Kissingen (Germany), Swiss Nationality
Angela Deuber graduated in Architecture from the ETH in Zürich in 2002 and founded her own office in Chur (Grisons, Switzerland) in 2006. From 2007 until 2010 she taught at the ETH in Zürich and was appointed lecturer at Lucerne University in 2012. Her first works have aroused considerable attention and exhibit a clear commitment to the culture of construction; defined by a willful architectural character possessing a strong material and tectonic identity. Most of her projects have public character and are located in Switzerland. Among her projects is a School Building in Thal, Canton of St. Gallen (2009-13) and the conversion of a late medieval house in Stuls, Grisons (2009-12). Although completely different, both projects showcase the architect’s skill in mediating the requirements of the brief to produce buildings that are unique and powerful. Her projects respond to the challenges of the 21st century offering economical solutions coupled with maximum flexibility. They are precise in thought and execution, creating enduring and timeless architecture.

 

dros van vennStudio Drost Van Veen – The Netherlands
Simone Drost
Simone Drost Architecture
Rotterdam
www.simonedrost.com

 

evelien

Evelien van Veen
Van Veen Architecten
Rotterdam
www.vanveenarchitecten.nl

 

SIMONE DROST VISION
Together. Collaborating closely with clients and users is essential to Simone Drost. After all, they are the people who will occupy and manage a building later. Their enthusiasm and input inspires her. Wanting to find out what is really important, Simone poses questions until she gets to the heart of the matter.
Collaborating with other disciplines is also important. An integral process involving engineers, building physicists, architects, landscape architects, urban designers and artists deepens understanding and enhances commitment. It also means co-creation.
Nature versus city. The most important sources of inspiration for Simone Drost are always nature and the city.
Nature provides an infinite source of inspiration in terms of form, tactility, light, scent and color, all of which trigger our senses. The city is of another order, with its complex history and constant innovation and vibrancy. The context of a site, be it urban or rural, provides the first intuitive inspiration for a design. With these sources of inspiration, Simone creates an architecture of the senses. “We are bombarded with an excess of images all day long. What matters is that buildings invite us to stop and really see, smell, feel, hear and taste things.”
Simone has a perfect sense of mood and effortlessly understands what a site needs. In that way, places can retain their identity in a contemporary atmosphere and form.
Deepening and future value. For Simone Drost, research is essential. “If we really want to make a substantial contribution as designers, then we should concern ourselves with the future value of our designs.” The value of a design lies in making basic choices that need to be grounded in thorough research. Her ambition is to propose designs that not only meet the needs of users but also endure for a long time on that particular site.
That is why new approaches must be taken, with specific themes in the realm of sustainability, material applications, nature and building, architecture and care, children and education. To this end, she collaborates with various researchers active in these domains. She also works on these subjects with students in studios.

EVELIEN VAN VEEN VISION
As an architect, I aim for designs with a clear identity. Buildings should surprise and intrigue with multilayered meanings and communicate at more than one level. They should be grounded in their location by a strong relationship with the environment—the landscape or urban context. The designs should give clear answers to complex architectural issues, be sustainable at all levels, and take users seriously. Architecture should tell a story. On the outside, a building should make a visual statement within the environment. From the inside, it should offer a special experience to the user. To achieve this in my designs, I look for a field of tension—for example, by using recognisable shapes and transforming them into contemporary forms, by using pronounced contrasts, or joining existing ones. Often this results in inventive spatial solutions and innovative constructions. The use of well-detailed materials and color are important means of articulating this vision.

PROJECT DATA: Multi Functional Centre “The Solar Tree”
Location
Doetinchem, The Netherlands
Project Type
Total Design and construction. Including interior design.
Use of the Building
2 Primary Schools, Childcare, Outside School care, Nursery, Sports Hall, Youth Club, Public Care Center, Community center

The design for a multi-functional center, in the heart of the plan for a new community center in Doetinchem, is designed by Drost + van Veen architects. It consists of two primary schools, a nursery, a café, a community center, a sports hall, a youth club, and spaces for social healthcare—a building for people of all ages.
The multi-functional accommodation (MFA) acts, on the boundary where two different existing neighborhoods come together, as a beacon. A connecting element where everybody of all social class can meet, and where the different residents can get an understanding for the people from the other district by meeting them.
The existing neighborhoods are very characteristic in their pronounced roof caps, and were the inspiration for the new center building. All functions have been centralized under a conspicuously shaped roof that refers to the typical roofs of that area. This roof divides the building up into smaller parts so that its scale is in tune with the rustic character of the surroundings. The central hall will be the meeting place for the community. In case of major events, the café, the activity room, the playroom, and the multi-functional room can be interconnected, forming one large space with the hall. As a symbol to connect all the users to the entrance, we used a wooden tree over four floors in the entrance hall. Spacious voids around the tree connect the different spaces on the higher and lower floors to the entrance hall. In this area the size of different populations is fluctuating a lot. We decided to design the construction of the building based on a flexible system of columns to get a good sustainable building for the ever-changing program. The façade too is designed in a sustainable manner. We redesigned the ceramic material, the roof tiles, from the district. We blew up a picture of a canopy where sunlight falls on to a very pixelated version and translated this image into a pattern of slate, in five different colors. These tiles are developed, by a German factory, specifically for this project. The slates are then sorted by color percentage and processed by the roofer in a random pattern. In two places in the façade, accents were applied in the form of a leaf motif to accentuate the entrance. These tiles are used as roof and façade. With this plan, the area is offered a building that the residents of the district can identify with and that can adapt flexibly to the various requirements on the part of the users in terms of space.

PROJECT DATA: Nieuw Overbos, Residential Care Centre
Location
Heemstede, Noord-Holland, The Netherlands
Project Type
New building
Use of the Building
Residential care
Construction Period
May 2012 – January 2015

The Residential Care Center is situated in a beautiful country estate at the foot of the dunes in Heemstede. It comprises of 98 apartments for the elderly. The soft, playful lines of the wooded sloping dunes, together with the way that elderly people perceive their world, were the main inspirations for this design. This starting point led to a transparent, easily understandable building, with a tripartite plan. A white shade was applied to enhance its lightness. The curved forms, the delicate detailing of the balconies, and the glass frontage of the apartments help make the building appear less massive. At ground level, the central hall, healthcare facilities (doctor, physiotherapist and hairdresser), and community support center are situated. Small housing groups accommodating the psycho-geriatric elderly are to be found on the ground and first floors. On the upper floors, independent, self-supporting apartments are located.

  • Open flexible floor plans by the use of columns.
  • Special lighting concept (1000 lux), color, and material used for elderly with Dementia
  • The continuous balcony protects the building in summer from overheating
  • Double glazing façade (daylight slows down Dementia),
  • Powder coated RVS railing system: thinner material, less maintenance
  • Green roofs
  • Bubble deck concrete floors: minimized material use and increases floor strength
  • Preserved Wooden sustainable cladding
  • Home automation in the whole building: less staff.

Installation

  • Thermal storage
  • Grey water use
  • Reusing heat in air circulation

Building technologies

  • Lean process during construction
  • Minimize waste and materials,
  • Prefabrication minimizes time
  • Repetition in façade and balconies

The floor plans are now reused for future projects for elderly and dementia

PROJECT DATA: De Oostvaarders, Nature Education Centre
Location
Almere, Flevoland, The Netherlands
Project Type
New Building
Use of the Building
Visitor Center, education, restaurant
Construction Period
October 2007 – April 2008

De Oostvaarders is situated in a unique nature reserve in Europe: The Oostvaardersplassen. The building is situated at the junction of differing landscapes of land, water, forest and reed fields. The center aims to reach a wide audience and comprises an information room, classroom, panorama-room, restaurant, and meeting-room. The building consists of two contrasting forms. From the parking area the shape is inviting, like a vertical beacon rising from the plain. To contrast with this, the lakeside rooms take a horizontal form, connecting the building with the extensive dyke system and water. On the first floor the panorama-room, with a large horizontal window, gives a stunning view over the lake. The entrance of the building is situated at the foot of the dyke. From the entrance, the visitor climbs the stairs to the crow’s nest: an exterior platform from which to view the environment. In order to minimize the disruption to the natural environment, the construction period was reduced to a minimum. Therefore, the building is made of prefabricated, massive, wooden walls (LenoTec) and floors. This had the added advantage of reducing costs and minimizing waste of materials. The use of these prefabricated elements made it possible to create an eight-meter overhang above the lake. In addition, preserved wood is a light material with a high insulation value, and needs very low maintenance. The wood is expressed on the interior and contributes to a healthy indoor environment due to the natural control of the humidity. The facades are arranged in different patterns and textures; the perforations vary in direction and size. Various framed views, through the façade, allow the visitor to observe and learn about the environment.
Installation

  • Self sufficient / autarchic building
  • Thermal storage
  • Grey water use
  • Reusing heat in air circulation

BIOGRAPHY SIMONE DROST
April 30, 1960 – Leiden, The Netherlands
Worldly. As the daughter of an ambitious urban designer, she relocated every four years to another city in the Netherlands. After secondary school she rapidly departed to discover the world and meet new people. She studied at schools of art and architecture in London and Rotterdam, and has also lived and worked in Geneva, Paris, Milan, Chicago and New York. Under the pretext ‘The best way to learn is to teach’, she teaches and lectures regularly at home and abroad — from Groningen to Rotterdam, Amsterdam, New York, Chicago, Sydney, Vienna and Paris. She currently operates from Rotterdam, and from a studio in the French countryside.
Freedom and space. After a brief period of learning at Mecanoo architects, Simone began her career as an independent architect in 1992. This independence typifies her, since she operates best when given the freedom to make her own choices. Freedom opens up space in which to answer design questions and ensures that creativity continues uninterrupted. It is a precondition for innovation, growth and development. Her determination stems from her concern for and love of the profession.
New start. In July 2014 Simone Drost had the pleasure of enthusiastically launching her company SIMONE DROST ARCHITECTURE!
After a successful 21-year collaboration in which Drost + van Veen completed many wonderful projects, the two office founders decided in mid-2014 to divide the company and go their separate ways.
Under the pretext ‘The best way to learn is to teach’, she teaches and lectures regularly at home and abroad — from Groningen to Rotterdam, Amsterdam, New York, Chicago, Sydney, Vienna and Paris.
She currently operates from Rotterdam, and from a studio in the French countryside.

BIOGRAPHY EVELIEN VAN VEEN
January 12, 1961 – Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Evelien van Veen grew up in a small family near the famous beach in a small town Noordwijk. She always loved making drawings and got her first “drawing “ prize when she was 6 years old. The concern and the awareness of the importance of the building environment, space, light colour, materials and specially the building environment always got her attention. She made her first interior designs at the a age, 16 years when she designed the new lunch/recreation room at the high school Rynlands Lyceum in Oestgeest. After graduating from high school she decided to become a designer and started her study at the Art Academy, Willem The Kooning in Rotterdam, the city where her family origins laid. At the second year at the Art Academy she met Simone Drost and started to work together on several study projects.
After graduating from the Art Academy in Rotterdam, Evelien chose to continue studying at the AA in London where she lived for almost five years. In 1993 she came back to Holland and the office Drost + van Veen Architects was being founded. Many years of successful projects followed.
Today, Evelien is married to a copywriter, has two children and is still living in the centre of Rotterdam.
Next to her professional life as an “female” architect she is also active in the community. Formerly as member of the building committee in Rotterdam, head of the building committee Breda and chairman of the residents organization which aims to promote the quality of life in central Rotterdam.

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