Graduation Projects 2009-2010

Amsterdam Academy of Architecture Architecture – Urbanism – Landscape Architecture

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Graduation Projects

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Contents

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Foreword: Art in times of scarcity, Aart Oxenaar 2 Introduction: Architecture must be easy, Bernardo Secchi 6

Architecture Spatial interpretations of the stoa, Machiel Spaan 12

New Amsterdam IJhotel, Daniel Aw 16

The vertical glasshouse, Amber Beernink 20

Open bulwark Jaap Hannes: residential psychiatric facilities, Joost van Bergen 24 EMBA-City, Ronald de Bont 28

The school, Anna Borisova 32

Bathhouse of Amsterdam, Eric Coppoolse 36

Instant pleasure – Shanghai 2020, Tatjana Djordjevic 40

Augustinus Ensemble, Jarno van Essen 44

Festina Lente: make haste slowly, Barbara van Goethem 48 Weerlichten, Monique Hutschemakers 52

Podium OMNI, Collin van Kooten 56

Accelerating through Rotterdam: the event as a tool, Karel Thomas Maessen 60

Duisenberg School of Finance, Rob ten Napel 64

Infinity symbol in Leidsche Rijn’s shopping route, Steven Nobel 68

Children’s boarding house, Thomas van Nus 72

Self-sufficient shelter for the homeless of Moscow, Evguenia Safontseva 78

Volkspoort: cultural centre for democracy, Jeroen Snel 82

Urbanism New syntheses in the existing city Berlin, Oslo, Deventer, Rogier van den Berg 88

Tempelhof, the plantation of Berlin, Jan Martijn Eekhof 92

Oslo station district, Tineke de Jong 96

Deventer reloaded, Gregor van Lit 100

Landscape Architecture Graduating means taking a stand, Marieke Timmermans 106

Fort Cochin reconquered, Martijn Al 110

The connecting park VIA 15, Katja Beeker 114 Borderline, José Vorstermans 118

Jury report on Archiprix 2011 nominations, Aart Oxenaar 122 Academy of Architecture Master of Architecture – Urbanism – Landscape Architecture

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Research – Reflections – Projects 04

Graduation Projects

Amsterdam Academy of Architecture Architectura & Natura

Foreword Art in times of scarcity director Amsterdam Academy of Architecture

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People who are now embarking on a career as a spatial designer, whether as an architect, urban planner or landscape architect, face a new reality.

The market is stagnating, and fear and reaction appear to reign. In such a climate, art is easily dismissed as surplus, certainly wherever artists probe the limits of their discipline in their work. The architect too is not only a scholar and engineer but also an artist. His or her role demands an ability to reflect critically on a design assignment in relation to the (position of the) individual and (the direction taken by) society. In the same way, thinking about the ‘why’ behind an assignment is just as much an aspect of the architect’s craft as the study of the ‘how’ behind its making. And periods of radical change are precisely what focus our thinking, our research.

Art always possesses added value, certainly in times of crisis. Recently a sculpture was found, made by a caveman, probably some 40,000 years ago.

Life must have been unimaginably tough then. We don’t even know if language existed. Very little is known about how communities functioned. But it is clear that even during that harsh struggle for life there was an urge to reflect on one’s existence through objects, to shape that existence in different way. That someone did just that and put himself forward as an ‘artist’ will no doubt have been a shocking new experience for his fellow men. The cave paintings in Lascaux and the Venus of Willendorf can therefore be considered as the first avant-garde works of art. That they survive to this day says something about the significance that they have had from the start for those communities.

Art is vulnerable, though artists are not necessarily so. At many different moments in history, young generations in particular, through their enthusiasm and open-minded vision, have displayed an ability to rise above their time and secure their position. With the tools at their disposal they once again shaped the here and now, in the process opening up a hopeful perspective of the future.

Art is about choosing. And it is precisely in times of tension and scarcity that there is an added challenge to choose skilfully and consciously. Working in times of crisis places greater demands on the professionalism and critical ability in order to resist shallowness, stagnation and a sense of malaise. At the same time, however, it presents exceptional opportunities to the architect, the urban planner and the landscape architect. With this new group of graduates, the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture therefore hopes to make a critical contribution to that future.

We are pleased to present them and their work to you.

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Introduction Architecture must be easy visiting critic

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Reviewing the work produced by this year’s batch of graduates from the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture was an enjoyable experience. That is because a good number of the projects display a breadth of intelligence that pushes us to reflect and ask ‘why not?’ But what are criteria by which we should assess the projects? I think that four criteria are important: imagination, justification, materialization and ease. Let me briefly deal with each of these.

First, imagination. More than anything else, this is the main thing to keep in mind when assessing the quality of work by students. Does a project try and move away from the familiar modes and models of architecture, urban design and landscape architecture? Does a design propose something new? I was happy to see that many of the projects on display did exactly those things, albeit with mixed results. New kinds of spaces and new ways of using spaces were proposed. Moreover, there were spaces that made me wonder whether they were public or private, and that ambiguity is a positive quality. Many of these graduation projects have the capacity to make us believe in something new, something that could be interesting for our contemporary city.

Second, justification. Every strong project should justify the proposal it is making. Often, we see students producing work that is sufficiently convincing in terms of design quality and elaboration, yet the result does not seem to have been prompted by a genuine question or problem. The truth is that good design always justifies itself. We look at a proposal and immediately comprehend what the designer wants to make and, importantly, why. On top of that, we understand that the designer is offering us a plausible response to a real need. A design should make us believe in its feasibility, and should make us want its construction to start tomorrow if possible. It is worth noting in this regard that many designs propose to increase the density of parts of the city.

We can propose this as designers, but at the same time we should be aware that density is not the answer to urban dispersal. It is an illusion to think that density alone is a solution. The designer’s task is not to tell people what to do or where to live. All we can do as professionals is to offer possibilities. Many designers think that they possess the power to dictate what people may and may not do, but that is simply not the case.

Third, materiality. Some projects explore in more depth the issue of how to make things, how to turn a design into real matter. In Italy and France, where I have done most of my teaching, students are completely lost when it comes to making things. The same is also true of those who come to work at my office. That is because during their education they focus much more on the image they are producing, and much less on how to turn that image into matter, something made of material. What we have to teach students, of course, is that architecture always has a materiality. It is heavy and must resist the weather outside. That awareness is sometimes lacking in the graduation schemes. And where it is present, we see that the students have elaborated their designs right down to the level of the construction details.

Introduction

Fourth, ease. I appreciate projects that are simple and easy. And the quality of drawing is an important issue here. Students would be well advised to resist the temptation to follow the latest fashions in drawing styles, for they often serve no other purpose than to hide the quality of design and hinder its proper communication. Architecture must always be easy. And we should be able to read it in an easy way. European architecture is, by tradition, an easy architecture. It is only in the past 30 years that it has become complicated.

Some of the graduate projects presented are difficult to read. It is not always immediately clear what the thrust of a design is, or what the designer wants to emphasize. Most of the graduation schemes are large and complex, and complicated schemes in particular cry out for clarity in terms of their presentation. As educators, we have to instruct students that drawing and presenting a design are acts of communication. And that what we design should be understood not just by our fellow professionals but by, for example, the mayor of a city. To such a person, who may well have the power to decide the fate of our design, drawings are a foreign language. We need to bear that in mind when making presentations, not only as students but also as professionals.

To conclude, the best student projects are those that combine all of the above-mentioned qualities. Many designs lack one or more of these qualities.

A number of projects look professionally competent, and sometimes possess a certain elegance, yet they do not tell us anything we do not already know.

That is because they lack imagination. Simply being competent is therefore not enough. And if I find myself asking why we should go to all the trouble to build a scheme, if I have to wonder how we will benefit from it, it means that the designer has not succeeded in justifying the proposal. By contrast, designs that display imagination, that justify their existence and relevance, that display an awareness of their material dimension, and that are easily grasped, are achievements worthy of our appreciation. There were enough designs in this category among the graduation projects.

Bernardo Secchi in conversation with Billy Nolan (04 11 2010)

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Architecture

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Spatial interpretations of the stoa head of Architecture Department

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Over the centuries the public building has remained a relevant architectural and social project. Vitruvius devotes a chapter to it in his book De architectura (The Ten Books on Architecture). He describes the Greek forum, the basilica, the town hall, the theatre and the bathhouse. In addition, he describes the colonnade and the promenade. Heavy demands were placed on such passageways lined by columns, since they were spaces not only to move through but also to remain in. The roots of our democracy lie in these walkways. For the agora was the most important space in the Greek city: it was the centre of politics and commerce and the place of encounter and relaxation.

An important part of the agora is the covered walkway, or stoa. These stoas are ambiguous spaces between inside and outside where the citizens could congregate to talk and learn from one another.

A building, and a public space too, should offer space for casual encounters and events. Ambiguous space offers freedom and movement for that. This is viewed as ominous and uncontrollable in today’s individualist society, which is gripped by fear. We determine everything and establish clear boundaries everywhere, which is why public buildings are closed fortresses with an unequivocal programme.

The new generation of architects has an emphatic need to make the public domain part of the building once again. Themes such as community and individual, inclusion and exclusion, collective and private result in interesting spatial design approaches. In the design assignments, that leads to exciting interpretations of existing typologies of public buildings. New programmes and ambiguous spatial characteristics produce architecture that encourages encounters, interaction and shared use.

In almost all designs, the Greek stoa is reinterpreted and incorporated into the building in different ways.

In a number of projects, for example, the public space is enriched with additional programmes. In the New Amsterdam IJ Hotel, Daniel Aw adds a hotel and public facilities to a new bridge. This encourages tourists and city dwellers to cross the bridge, encountering one another along the way.

In Accelerating through Rotterdam, Karel Maessen designs a race circuit through the centre of Rotterdam, a new type of temporary public space that can be appropriated after the race by passers-by, thus adding a new layer to the public space. With her project Weerlichten, Monique Hutschemakers takes the funeral ritual apart and places different phases of the ceremony in different vacant spaces in a neighbourhood. Accordingly, the public space becomes part of the building. The ‘threshold’ between building parts is stretched to form an elongated urban space.

In four designs — the Volkspoort: cultural centre for democracy by Jeroen Snel, the Podium OMNI by Collin van Kooten, the Open bulwark Jaap Hannes: residential psychiatric facilities by Joost van Bergen, and the Leidsche Rijn

Spatial interpretations of the stoa

shopping route by Steven Nobel — the positioning of the buildings in the urban fabric creates public space that opens up opportunities for encounters. The buildings embrace the public arena. Departing from the traditional stacking of functions produces new sections in which different programmes interact more and exist alongside one another. This generates not only movement but also encounters in these new city rooms. Collective space is embraced by the school programme in Anna Borisova’s new School. Intimate courtyards offer light, air and views, and exciting places for learning and discovering in a playful way.

In yet other schemes the stoa becomes part of the vertical organization.

The public portico returns almost literally in different forms in the building.

Evguenia Safontseva designed a Self-sufficient shelter for the homeless in Moscow with a tall central space for relaxation and gardening. The Vertical Glasshouse by Amber Beernink is literally a stacked landscape of greenhouses in which a number of levels function as places of public gathering (restaurant, market and circulation space). In the centre of her Instant Pleasure building, Tatjana Djordjevic designs a vertical zone where people can meet, show off and flirt with one another. This zone is lined along both sides by spaces with functions such as small shops in the stoa. In the Bathhouse of Amsterdam by Eric Coppoolse the interaction between bathing and passers-by becomes a design theme. Public and private spaces exist side by side in the designed canyon. The last two projects feature a vertical ‘Nolli Map’, in which public and private zones alternate with one another.

Finally there are a number of projects in which a public route weaves through the building like a strand of DNA, threads its way past the programme and presents itself to the world at strategic points. This ‘street programme’ that stimulates encounters and activities is a feature of the Duisenberg School of Finance by Rob ten Napel, the Festina Lente office building by Barbara van Goethem and the embassy complex EMBA-City by Ronald de Bont. Likewise, the cultural centre Augustinus Ensemble by Jarno van Essen contains a clever street that connects the different programmes and facilitates interaction.

In his Children’s boarding house, Thomas van Nus pursues this theme right down to the smallest scale. The day and night centre for the children of people who work on boats features a clever route that connects the city, via the stairs, kitchen, living room and bedroom, to a private space with windows that look back out over the city. The entire route, right down to the scale of the threshold, boasts ambiguously designed spaces that offer scope for encounters, dialogue and discovery.

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New Amsterdam IJhotel The global society we live in today is defined by a worldwide integration of economics, politics and culture. As this far-reaching integration increases the scale of the networks we use and blurs geographic borders, travel has become an intrinsic aspect of our society and our lifestyles. The global citizens who inhabit this brave new world seek cultural enrichment and intense experiences. Where hotels were once expected to simply provide a ‘non-place’ for people to sleep, today’s world travellers want a hotel that meets their need for interaction and encounters.

Amsterdam suffers from a shortage of hotel rooms. The city needs to take the initiative to avoid losing ground to other world-class cities competing for patrons. To that end, Amsterdam drew up a strategic paper on hotel policy, with the aim of adding thousands of hotel rooms in the coming years. Most of the current hotel rooms are outdated and fail to serve the needs of modern travellers or local Amsterdam residents. The hotels generally have no ties to the city, focus on a unilateral target audience (travellers), and are monofunctional (business, recreation, budget). As stated in the strategic paper on hotel policy, the hotels that will be built in the coming years need to be aligned more effectively with the preferences of the modern traveller and the city of Amsterdam.

Amsterdam is a diverse and dynamic city, both multicultural and multifunctional, and offers a wide range of public amenities. It is a place to see and be seen, to act, react and interact, a place to see and experience everything to the fullest. It is a city of people. The new type of hotel needs to complement these experiences, offering facilities that meet the needs of the people who come to Amsterdam.

The New Amsterdam IJhotel is a new type of hotel that attracts visitors from Amsterdam, the rest of the Netherlands and abroad. The hotel is more than just a place to stay overnight; it is an urban feature that offers public functions as well as overnight accommodations. The hotel concept consists of a bridge that spans the IJ River, linking the Java and KNSM islands to the north of Amsterdam. As an integral part of the public realm, the hotel engages with the city and the water so characteristic of Amsterdam. This connecting bridge automatically generates a flow of local people passing by the hotel that accommodates tourists. Both groups meet in and on the bridge, where the public functions form an outer shell around the hotel rooms. The hotel will enhance the branding of the city of Amsterdam!

Graduation date 01 04 2010 Commission members Arnoud Gelauff (mentor) Kamiel Klaasse Rob Wagemans Additional members for the examination Bart Bulter Madeleine Maaskant

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Daniel Aw

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The vertical glasshouse Feeding the city The need for locally grown fresh foods is growing, fed by the awareness of the dramatic ecological, social and economic impact of the global food industry. Studies are being conducted all over the world to find sustainable ways for cities to meet their own food demands through vertical farming.

A new era dawns on Amsterdam’s Java Island This design is for a vertical farm on the tip of Java Island in the Eastern Docklands of Amsterdam. At the beginning of the 20th century, Java Island was defined by international trade and industry. It has now become a residential area, and the empty quayside at its tip is used as an urban meeting point and a great spot to catch a breath of fresh air. In these early years of the 21st century, this design envisions this part of Java Island heralding in a new era as a pioneer of modern food production, amidst the people of Amsterdam.

Spatial intervention In the new structure, the tip of the island will remain open to the public. Its metropolitan magnificence is enhanced by its location on the waterfront, surrounded on all sides by seagoing vessels and the skylines of the Amsterdam riverbanks. The glasshouse hangs from a number of columns to leave the quay as free as possible, and the ground-floor level moves smoothly into a sunken square with access to the glasshouse.

The glasshouse itself will be a landmark on the IJ River, heated by sunlight on its facade, which also acts as a display case. The glasshouse can be used as a billboard for major events.

Urban programme On the top level, a restaurant will serve the crops harvested from the glasshouse below, and the same produce can be purchased from a shop on the sunken square. This ensures that the location will play a more prominent role in the day-to-day city life for the public at large. The glass lift to the restaurant intensifies the experience of the glasshouse, rising through the layers of stacked cultivation to the top.

During events, the restaurant, shops and dispatch room in the glasshouse will be open to the public, ensuring an unobstructed view even during large-scale meetings. When a harvest festival is held, the sunken square is transformed into a marketplace, covered in a patchwork quilt of produce.

Plant nurseries can be opened to the public so everyone can marvel at this ‘machine’ of alternative food production.

Organic machine The main elements of the glasshouse together comprise a passive energy system. Air and water are transported through the building, providing heat or cooling for the glasshouse as needed. Floor sections are filled with water pulled from deep underground and air from the cavity wall, which can also be thoroughly ventilated.

Graduation date 28 10 2009 Commission members Chris Scheen (mentor) Moriko Kira Gilian Schrofer Additional members for the examination Klaas Kingma Jan Richard Kikkert

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Architecture 03 Location 04 Program A Restaurant B Crop curtain C Cultivation wires D Dispatch E Shop F Turntable G Expedition space H Roof terrace I Orchard J Quay

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Amber Beernink

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Open bulwark Jaap Hannes, residential psychiatric facilities The demand for housing for psychiatric clients is increasing. The city has seen an 80% increase in psychiatric cases, and one in four adults is affected by some form of psychiatric disorder. The aim was to design a building for the acceptance and rehabilitation of teens and young adults learning to live with a psychiatric illness. The building shows the healthy side of the client to the local community, protecting and revealing at the same time.

The chosen location at one end of Czaar Peterstraat is a dynamic location in the city. The built-up environment is defined by a highly diverse atmosphere and character. Viewed in the context of urban architecture, the neighbourhood has a protective border of three main volumes, each with its own subtle and unique approach. As a result, the area cradled by this border becomes accessible to the people living in the city, creating expressive areas filled with character. Between these volumes, the clinic links the blocks of buildings and has its own unique facade.

The wards and their rooms face the areas relevant to their context. The closed ward and its calm surroundings are situated beside a park or garden, and the open ward faces the street or square, while the assisted living or independent living quarters are located along the city block that faces Czaar Peterstraat. The client can move to different rooms within the building, as appropriate to their increasing level of independence. The progress towards independent interaction is reflected in the room, the access points and the building’s relationship to the city.

Arranging all the wards along a route inspires the client to keep moving, encouraged to wander and find the spot that suits his current frame of mind. The route has diverse points of view overlooking the typological characters of the location, also offering access to activities, education, therapy, emergency care and the public programme. Visits to the psychiatrist take place within the client’s own building.

The daytime activities are located in the commercial plinth, allowing people from the local community and clients living in the clinic to meet and talk to each other. The programme, the details of the plinth and the routing pull the people of the city into the building and into the client’s world. The first floor includes a waiting room with a view and a local library as a meeting point, both linked to the ‘infinite’ route.

The building houses over 100 rooms, each with a personal storage unit and movable partition walls, making it possible for the client to redefine the rooms in response to changing moods. The rooms in the clinical section are positioned in an unusual way in relation to the hallway, allowing the client to decide how much of himself to reveal, and blurring the boundaries between route, ward, room and bedroom. The client can also operate the facade, so the building displays the emotions of the people who live there and the client controls his own ambience.

Graduation date 21 10 2009 Commission members Erik Wiersema (mentor) Art Zaaijer Martien van Goor Additional members for the examination Klaas Kingma Lada Hršak

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Architecture 01 Location 02 Level 00 03 Level 01 04 Concept of stimulus and orientation 05 Relation of structured daily activities to programme of city dweller 06 Concept for room in clinic 07 Concept of the open urban room 08 Inner garden 09 Inner square

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Joost van Bergen

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Architecture

EMBA-City An embassy is the official representation of one country inside another country. It acts as a service desk, providing travel documents and arranging emergency assistance for compatriots. The embassy also has an important diplomatic responsibility. But an embassy could be so much more; it could also represent the country culturally – a flagship location for an entire nation. However, most embassy buildings are distinctly unwelcoming, walled off from their surroundings. This design explores underutilized opportunities for the embassy building.

People view an embassy as advertising and representing a country, a fact that becomes apparent when a protest group disagrees with the policies or events unfolding in that country. Embassies all over the world face demonstrations almost every day, often even becoming the target of attacks. These occurrences lead to drastic security measures. In old city centres, it frequently gives rise to intolerable situations around embassy buildings. To prevent embassies from unavoidably taking the public spaces hostage in urban centres, it is necessary to find a new design solution, perhaps even a new typology for these buildings.

This task was formulated in terms of creating a public-access, multi-tenant building for embassies. The main theme is a continuous route, the ‘street’, that runs through the building with various functions along the way. This route seeks out the tension that exists along the border between private and public. The incorporation of multiple embassies in a single building generates enough surface area to add functions that could attract the public. As such, the street offers space for exhibitions.

Embassies from the following countries will be housed in the multi-tenant building: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Besides the obvious geographic proximity, there are close-knit alliances between these countries.

The Hague would be an obvious location for the Dutch embassies in this multi-tenant building. Embassies generally choose their location based on the country’s seat of government in order to remain close to the diplomatic source. The building would be situated opposite Central Station, The Hague’s main access point; the area is surrounded by various government ministries.

The building is characterized by a uniform use of materials in the facade, as well as the colourful variety of the national flags that are projected on the ceilings of the public spaces. The public routes that run through the building can be clearly seen on the building’s facade.

Graduation date 03 09 2010 Commission members Tijmen Ploeg (mentor) Laurens Jan ten Kate Eric Frijters Additional members for the examination Ira Koers Klaas Kingma

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01 Situation 02 Unit 03 Level 02 04 Level 04 05 Embassy tower 06 Exposition level 10 07 Diplomatic balcony 08 Living embassy 09 Street route 10 Garden route 11 Koningin Julianaplein 12 Stacking eight embassy units 13 Adding public spaces 14 Creating public spaces 15 Projected on location 16 South west facade 17 Section 18 Approaching 19 North east facade

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n-units Ambassade-units 8.7Stapelen Acht 8.8Ambassade-units Publieke Stapelen Ruimten 8.8 Publieke Stapelen Toevoegen 8.8 Ruimten Publieke Toevoegen 8.8 Ruimten Publieke Toevoegen Ruimten Toevoegen 8.9 Publieke Routes 8.9 Publieke Creëren 8.9 Routes Publieke Creëren 8.9 Routes Publieke 8.10 Creëren Geprojecteerd Routes 8.10 Creëren Geprojecteerd op Locatie 8.10 Geprojectee op Locatie 8.10 Ronald de Bont

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port tikaal 8.11 Transport Vertikaal Transport 8.12 Ontsluiting 8.12 Woningen Ontsluiting 8.12Woningen Ontsluiting 8.12Woningen Ontsluiting Woningen 8.13 Ontsluiting 8.13 Ambassades/Publiek Ontsluiting 8.13Ambassades/Publiek Ontsluiting 8.13Ambassades/Publiek Ontsluiting Ambassades/Publiek 8.14 Goederen 8.14 naarGoederen Straat 8.14naar Goederen Straat 8.14na

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Architecture

The school Books, no matter how scholarly, are always biographies of their authors.

Annabel Jane Wharton After decades of neglect and under-funding, the report published by the Dijsselbloem Committee on innovations in secondary education states that education is again high on the political agenda. Since it is a major social issue, architects are participating not only on a theoretical level, but also on a practical level, by trying to come up with solutions that would fit all the requirements of the ‘new school’.

Our society, living conditions and responsibilities have changed dramatically in the last two decades. Since the school stopped being the only source of knowledge, what role is left for it to play in contemporary society? The design of the educational building has therefore become more of an architectural challenge than ever. How can someone be individualistic and simultaneously merge with the group in a contemporary school environment? Classrooms are often replaced by learning domains; main halls have turned into genuine plazas. Has the classroom lost its value in the school setting? When every space in a school is for everyone, how do you find a space for yourself?

The educational system in the Netherlands is extremely diverse: in addition to the more traditional ‘classical schools’, the range of options includes British, American, Muslim and Montessori schools, as well as various private schools. Dutch society is quite experimental when it comes to education. This project takes full advantage of this and the school is designed based on the architect’s own school experience back in Soviet Russia. It could be said that a school building is the most influential building an architect can design. Human characters and principles will be formed in this environment and influenced by it.

Graduation date 25 05 2010 Commission members Don Murphy (mentor) Holger Gladys Heike Loehmann Additional members for the examination Martin Schepers Nominated for Archiprix

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Anna Borisova

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Bathhouse of Amsterdam (BOA) By day, the water’s slightly lighter green than the forests, slightly lighter blue than the sky, slightly lighter than you want to say, that is water.

The moon rises, the water is blacker than the forests that are grey, blacker than the sky that is grey.

In this poem, Rutger Kopland captures the magic of water in words. In contrast, the Bathhouse of Amsterdam (BOA) speaks for itself: in this place, you experience the water with all your senses. The BOA offers every Amsterdammer the water experience he seeks. There is an active zone, based on the concept of a swimming pool; an entertainment zone, based on the concept of a tropical bath; and a relaxation zone, based on the concept of the Turkish bath and spa.

The BOA is accessible for all the people of Amsterdam. Here in the heart of Amsterdam, they find the relaxation that a busy city needs. The social borders between the pool’s patrons are blurred or thrown into sharp focus by the lack of outdoor apparel, responding to the city as a social community.

The BOA is located in the middle of the busy, medieval city centre with its tightly packed buildings. It is situated underground – integrated into the Rokin metro station – and thus respects the shortage of public space.

At ground level, the bathhouse presents itself as a reincarnation of the submerged Amstel River – but now you can simply wade on through! The new canal defines a number of quiet city squares on the east side, linked to the cultural route of the Nes street. The dynamic west side is dominated by traffic and the shopping area on and around Kalverstraat. The canal is illuminated from below at night, immersing the Rokin in a muted light straight out of a fairytale.

In the metro, the bathhouse appears to be an elongated canyon spanned by pools. The noise of the metro as it enters the station regularly drowns out the roar of the splashing waterfalls. The daylight washes in waves across the canyon, filtered through the canal above. The canyon has many aspects: broad, warm and green in the entertainment zone; narrow, high and steaming in the relaxation zone; and broader and cooler again in the active zone.

The canal is open at both ends, forming the entryways to the metro and the BOA. As you enter, you are surrounded by white concrete: the BOA appears to have been carved out of a solid block of underground concrete. Warm wood accentuates open areas and relaxation rooms. And there is water everywhere: hot or cold, quiet or flowing, loud or soft, dark or light, brightly coloured or clear as glass.

At the end of your visit, you enjoy a cold glass of delicious Amsterdam tap water in the restaurant. You gaze down into the canyon; you see the differences and similarities in the water. Visitors depart from the changing rooms opposite the restaurant; you see the differences and similarities in the people of Amsterdam. Completely relaxed, you stretch lazily and decide to greet your neighbour with a friendly wave tomorrow.

Graduation date 22 10 2010 Commission members Laurens Jan ten Kate (mentor) Gianni Cito Rob Hootsmans Additional members for the examination Ira Koers Ruurd Roorda

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Eric Coppoolse

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Instant pleasure – Shanghai 2020 Almost 24% of the world’s population spends their leisure time online. It’s hard to estimate the number of people who use computers for fun without accessing the internet. Some statistics suggest that that number could be even higher. How people spend their time now, and particularly how they will spend it in the future, will have a major impact on the architecture of leisure spaces. If these numbers continue to rise so rapidly, is there still a need for leisure space in the physical world? We may think this is a distant future, but the process of change has already started. If the number of people who spend their leisure time socializing with others in virtual space continues to rise so rapidly, we will have a problem in the physical world. As architects, we should be concerned about this possible issue, as it could well change everything we know about architecture.

My project involves a new typology of leisure buildings. The way we live and socialize with others is changing. People’s behaviour has changed in the last 20 years and continues to change rapidly. The project explores options for a structure that can interact with users, engaging them in individual or collective interaction with the space and each other. This building is an active space. The structure of the build­ing changes in real time to activate different uses of the space. It should challenge our perceptions and guide us through unexpected ways of living and enjoying. This new building is not static; rather, it is more like a complex creature which unfolds and evokes over time. It is an instrument for users that allows them to experience their fantasies.

The virtual world gives people enormous freedom in experiencing the things they imagine and desire. The problem with such pleasures is that it always stays on the other side of the screen; it fails to engage the physical body. It always stays in your mind. As new leisure habits develop in modern society, the virtual world is just a new way of socializing. What makes the virtual world so addictive is, simply, social interaction.

The ultimate task of my project was to research and create a new type of structure in real time. It does not compete directly with the virtual space.

Instead, it creates a physical space that feels like a virtual environment. The quality of that kind of space is engaging the physical body and facilitating basic human interaction.

House of Joy is a hyper-building which consists of different types of pleasure: physical, sensual, emotional or mental. People can choose which form of leisure suits them based on their individual tastes. House of Joy consists of two main parts, classified by type of enjoyment and experi­ence: Virtue City: traditional leisure activities and Sin City: the transgression zone is a part of the building where basic norms and values do not apply. It is a space where people can experience their own fantasies.

Graduation date 28 06 2010 Commission members Holger Gladys (mentor) Jo Barnett Marc Mauer Additional members for the examination Anne Holtrop Jeroen Geurst Jeroen van de Bovenkamp

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Tatjana Djordjevic 01 Location 02 Program connection scheme 03 Sections: Green zone -public space Red zone – private space Blue zone – service space 04 Transit toilet 05 Shopping level 06 Transit cinema 07 Service level 08 Room technology 09 Entrance 10 Metro 11 Green zone 12 Cinema 13 Red zone 14 Room

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Architecture

Augustinus Ensemble The public building is changing. Moving away from a recognizably monofunctional building, such as a library or theatre, it is increasingly becoming a multifunctional complex where encounters and exchanges are key.

The Augustinian friary and primary school in the Baarsjes district of Amsterdam is under threat of demolition. Both buildings are typical examples of the austere Catholic architecture of the 1930s. This plan aims to redesign the neighbourhood function that the school and the friary have always had. Adding a new programme links the friary and the school, giving the building a vibrantly beating heart. The Augustinus Ensemble will become a contemporary, multifunctional and cultural centre for the Baarsjes district, situated beside Rembrandt Park.

The plan adds a new dimension to the concept of multifunctionality.

Rather than a large space in which anything is possible (in line with the ideas of Frank van Klingeren), the separation of functions is the guiding principle. Each function has its own character and operates independently.

Exchanges are facilitated thanks to the careful connections established between different functions operating on that principle, and that gives access to the advantages of multifunctionality without having to deal with the disadvantages. This approach generates the desired dynamics, but keeps them manageable. Variation in programme elements appeals to a broader audience and contributes to the envisioned social contact.

The proposed project can also be considered a study on how to connect old buildings and new buildings. The closed nature of the existing constructions receives a more transparent addition appropriate to the public function that the building will provide. The addition does not seek out the contrast between old and new, but engages in a dialogue on the basis of equality. This approach weaves the new additions into the existing buildings, keeping the older structures recognizable while simultaneously immersing them in a new, coherent entity.

Graduation date 30 08 2010 Commission members Jaco Woltjer (mentor) Marcel van der Lubbe Wim de Vos Additional members for the examination Klaas Kingma Jan Richard Kikkert

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01 Location 02 Program 03 Mass, articulation, rhythm 04 Level -01 05 Level 00 06 Level 01 07 Level 02 08 Level 03 09 Level 04 10 Section 11 Impression 12 Court 13 Interiors 14 Facade fragments

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School yard Garden

Primaryschool Sport Theatre / Creative Office Catering

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Jarno van Essen

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Festina Lente, make haste slowly Inspiration There are people who spend their time so effectively that they seem to achieve the impossible within a single day, but are never in a hurry. These people have an exquisite awareness of time. To them, time is not an enemy but an ally. They represent the global 24/7 knowledge economy.

These people successfully organize their activities so they flow naturally, moving smoothly between work and private life, free time and friends.

Introduction Work is no longer strictly separated from our private lives; everything spills over and runs together. Can architecture help enhance productivity and quality of life for these career-driven high achievers? A survey of 100 people working in this sector offered a glimpse of how they work, relax and interact in the office world. They perceive everything in the context of work, choosing their leisure activities as deliberately as they choose their next career move. They play tennis with colleagues, go golfing with their business relations, drink a beer with their financial consultant. The dividing line between work and leisure is hard to define. The buildings where these activities take place are often located far from each other.

These findings inspired my design: Festina Lente.

Development Festina Lente is the motto attributed to Augustus Caesar, who ruled the vast Roman Empire over two thousand years ago. Festina Lente is often translated as ‘make haste slowly’, which essentially means achieve maturity through growth, balance swift action with patience and temper reckless abandon with iron self-control. These admirable qualities are expressed in my building, where work, relaxation and social encounters are the central focus.

Context The people who use this building live and work in the heart of Amsterdam’s business district, the Zuidas, the urban centre of this knowledge economy which boasts top-notch offices, exclusive residences and excellent facilities. The intense work pace and fierce competition make this the most dynamic spot in the Netherlands. This location is on the threshold of developing into a hyper-urban junction. My design aims to demonstrate the contrast and convergence of exertion and relaxation.

Graduation date 11 02 2010 Commission members Laurens Jan ten Kate (mentor) Chris Scheen René Bouman Additional members for the examination Jan Richard Kikkert Madeleine Maaskant

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Architecture 01 Schematic composition 02 Bird’s-eye view 03 Section 04 Plan with square 05 Plan with swimming pool 06 Plan with tennis court 07 Floating lift 08 Park 09 Swimming pool 10 Tennis court

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Barbara van Goethem

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Weerlichten Weerlichten comes in answer to the growing demand to integrate death into day-to-day life. It is a system of twenty ritual locations distributed across the entire city of Berlin, nestled into the multifunctional housing blocks so typical of the city. The crematorium as an institute is expanded and fragmented, stretching its edges and lowering the threshold. In the broad diversity of the rituals it offers, Weerlichten responds to the increasing need for the patchwork funeral, in which everyone can assemble his or her own personal package of rituals.

Weerlichten makes use of the gaps that have emerged in the Berlin city blocks over the years. It seeks out the spots bordered by fire walls, the blind building facades that must remain windowless because they stand on the edge of an estate. This brings an end to Berlin’s culture of glossing over its gaps; the empty spaces are frozen, creating time and space.

Twenty ritual locations, then, designed by five architects. This proposal outlines the first four locations, using a single funeral scenario as the underlying principle that guides the design. The viewing house where the body lies in state (location 1) is followed by the farewell house (location 2).

After the last goodbyes have been said, the body is taken to the cremation oven (location 3). Forty days later, when the ashes can be picked up and the cinerary urn is placed in the columbarium (location 3), the survivors ‘celebrate’ death at the fire site (location 4). The family and friends carry their loved one from place to place by ‘funeral bike’; the funeral procession becomes an accepted part of the ordinary street scene.

Each building supports one specific ritual. The activities that take place at each location are the same, intensifying the experience and engraving it in permanent memory. It contrasts with the need to have the building and its visitors become part of public life. The encounter between these two (apparent) opposites does not take place on the threshold; rather, it stretches out over a diffuse and expansive area defined in part by the people who use it.

The four locations represent a sequential progression of the degree to which the function mingles or moves away from the city. This is expressed in the location of the building in relation to the neighbourhood and the city, the place that the building occupies in the block of buildings, the stronger and growing signal to the surrounding community. The diminishing length of the route between public and private, the gradual abandonment of the poché, the door that slowly but surely dissolves and disappears.

Graduation date 24 08 2010 Commission members Albert Herder (mentor) Bruno Doedens Herman Zeinstra Additional members for the examination Jan Richard Kikkert Miguel Loos

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Architecture 01 Small scale ritual locations 02 Location of wake house 03 Section and plan of wake house 04 Location of funeral ceremony 05 Funeral ceremony with light spot 06 Section and plan of funeral ceremony 07 Location of fire route 08 Entrance 09 Impression of fire route 10 Section and plan of oven 11 Location of funeral pyre 12 Section and plan of funeral pyre

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Monique Hutschemakers

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Podium OMNI The aim of this project is to design a music building that will make it possible to experience various musical genres in unique and specific ways. The visual identity of the music will play a role in how the building presents its visual manifestation. Research conducted on the city of Alkmaar shows that future developments in the area surrounding the inner city will increase the pressure on that historic city centre. The most important link between the new developments and the city centre is a bridge over the North Holland canal. The axis, which includes a pedestrian bridge, lacks a clear landmark that reinforces the connection between the two areas. A second, cultural axis is being developed which intersects the first.

The spot where the cultural axis intersects the connecting axis determines the location of Podium OMNI. This site makes it possible for the building to form the link between highbrow and popular cultural activities, and act as a landmark on the connecting axis.

Looking at modern music venues and classical concert halls reveals a wide diversity in typologies, which can be associated with an equally diverse range of experiences. The various cross-sections and floor plans were displayed in a typological matrix, making it possible to identify the similarities. With the aim of incorporating all the specific experiences and acoustic qualities, the various halls in the cross-sections and floor plans were combined into a single, multifunctional music hall.

This space is divided into several smaller volumes, which conform to the small-scale textures of the city centre. The music hall floats above ground level while retaining the historic lines of the classic inner courtyard, creating a city square and allowing the building to form its own entrance.

The square acts as a ‘city foyer’ before the visitors descend into the building’s actual foyer, which is situated below ground level. In the foyer, the multifunctional hall is a clearly visible concrete volume. A transparent connection between the ground-floor level and the hall creates a clear separation between the two functions. The glass plinth disengages the heavy concrete hall from its location and gives the foyer a visual link to the square and the street. The multifunctional hall is constructed entirely from concrete, while a second structure of vertical blinds meanders across the hall, tantalizing the perceptions of the people passing by. A vertical print has been added behind the blinds, creating a moiré effect for passersby and allowing everyone to recognize his own musical wave pattern in the building. The addition of LED lighting makes it possible to display a reflection of the musical performance on the outside of the building in the evenings.

Graduation date 15 10 2009 Commission members Tijmen Ploeg (mentor) Marijn Schenk Joost van Hezewijk Additional members for the examination Ira Koers Rik van Dolderen

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Collin van Kooten

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Architecture

Accelerating through Rotterdam, the event as a tool Rotterdam has reached the limits of its expansion. The driving force behind the image of Rotterdam – the post-war reconstruction – has lost its momentum. The large-scale dynamics of Rotterdam’s opportunism have gradually given way to a dynamic of unconnected interventions as a weak expression of a once-strong identity. How can this city reinvent its dynamic identity?

In essence, my final project is about whether a (temporary) event in Rotterdam can become a sustainable driver of constant transformation.

Can the residue – the scraps of the event that remain in the wake of the event’s departure – become significant elements in the city? Can it facilitate new locations or functions that are currently unavailable, only to take on their alternative form for two weeks again a year later, regaining their significance for the visitors?

The plan envisions a racetrack through Rotterdam that crosses itself, thus remaining compact and intensifying the experience of the event.

The programme is structured in two sections: the events area for the crowds (public) and the paddock area for the racing teams (private).

Visitor experience during the event is the basis for where the various grandstands are placed. Crowd seating is concentrated around locations where spectacular sights can be expected during the race. A show is put on for each event, involving the permanent elements of the city itself as well: the entrance to the metro station on Oostplein is transformed into a pit stop, and the platform becomes an underground connection between the paddock and the public area. The swimming pool that floats in the Maas River becomes a grandstand on the water.

By allowing the temporary elements to take on new positions, as a rebellious structure surfacing through the shadow of permanence, new locations are freed up in the city that are ideal for use as non-commercial public areas. The permanent elements that remain after the event adhere to a new level of the city that is not yet being used as a public space – underground, in the river itself, under a viaduct or on the roof of a building…

Together, these remnants add a new type of public space to the diverse palette of the city. The framework that makes it possible leaves behind a void that offers a tantalizing playground for the people who use it. The design defines a clear area, a grandstand or stage in the urban landscape.

The stage pulls that part of the city out of its anonymous disguise and makes the viewers and users become actors in their own event.

Graduation date 04 11 2009 Commission members Jan Richard Kikkert (mentor) John Lonsdale Lars van Es Additional members for the examination Jan Peter Wingender Mariëtte Adriaanssen

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61 01 Program 02 Side view of river swimming pool after event.

INTERVENTIES OUDE BLOKKADES ZICHTVELDEN INTERVENTIES NIEUWE ZICHTVELDEN OUDE BLOKKADES ZICHTVELDEN BESTAAND ZICHT OP CIRCUIT NIEUWE ZICHTVELDEN NIEUW ZICHT OP CIRCUIT BESTAAND ZICHT OP CIRCUIT INTERVENTIES BEPERKT ZICHT OP CIRCUIT NIEUW ZICHT OP CIRCUIT OUDE BLOKKADES ZICHTVELDEN INTERVENTIES GEBLOKKEERD ZICHT OP CIRCUIT BEPERKT ZICHT OP CIRCUIT OUDE BLOKKADES ZICHTVELDEN NIEUWE ZICHTVELDEN BIJZONDERE GEBLOKKEERD ZICHT OP CIRCUIT BESTAAND ZICHT OP CIRCUIT MOMENTEN CIRCUIT NIEUWE ZICHTVELDEN CIRCUIT BIJZONDERE MOMENTEN CIRCUIT NIEUW ZICHT OP CIRCUIT BESTAAND ZICHT OP CIRCUIT CIRCUIT BEPERKT ZICHT OP CIRCUIT NIEUW ZICHT OP CIRCUIT GEBLOKKEERD ZICHT OP CIRCUIT BEPERKT ZICHT OP CIRCUIT GEBLOKKEERD ZICHT OP CIRCUIT BIJZONDERE MOMENTEN CIRCUIT BIJZONDERE MOMENTEN CIRCUIT CIRCUIT

INTERVENTIES OUDE BLOKKADES ZICHTVELDEN NIEUWE ZICHTVELDEN BESTAAND ZICHT OP CIRCUIT INTERVENTIES NIEUW ZICHT OP CIRCUIT OUDE BLOKKADES ZICHTVELDEN INTERVENTIES BEPERKT ZICHT OP CIRCUIT NIEUWE ZICHTVELDEN OUDE BLOKKADES ZICHTVELDEN GEBLOKKEERD ZICHT OP CIRCUIT BESTAAND ZICHT OP CIRCUIT NIEUWE ZICHTVELDEN BIJZONDERE MOMENTEN CIRCUIT BESTAAND ZICHT OP CIRCUITNIEUW ZICHT OP CIRCUIT CIRCUIT BEPERKT ZICHT OP CIRCUIT NIEUW ZICHT OP CIRCUIT BEPERKT ZICHT OP CIRCUIT GEBLOKKEERD ZICHT OP CIRCUIT BIJZONDERE MOMENTEN CIRCUIT GEBLOKKEERD ZICHT OP CIRCUIT CIRCUIT BIJZONDERE MOMENTEN CIRCUIT

Interventions Old blockades in field of view New views Existing view of circuit Blocked view of circuit Special moments of circuit Circuit

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INTERVENTIES OUDE BLOKKADES ZICHTVELDEN NIEUWE ZICHTVELDEN BESTAAND ZICHT OP CIRCUIT NIEUW ZICHT OP CIRCUIT BEPERKT ZICHT OP CIRCUIT GEBLOKKEERD ZICHT OP CIRCUIT BIJZONDERE MOMENTEN CIRCUIT CIRCUIT

New view of circuit

INTERVENTIES OUDE BLOKKADES ZICHTVELDEN NIEUWE ZICHTVELDEN BESTAAND ZICHT OP CIRCUIT NIEUW ZICHT OP CIRCUIT BEPERKT ZICHT OP CIRCUIT GEBLOKKEERD ZICHT OP CIRCUIT BIJZONDERE MOMENTEN CIRCUIT CIRCUIT

Limited view of circuit

Architecture

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03 Overview of racetrack (white) and designed fragments (red).

04 A: Fragment 1, section B: Fragment 1, side view after event 05 A: Side view of river swimming pool as stand during the event. The lifting bridge serves as an entrance to the stands.

B: Side view of river swimming pool after event.

The lifting bridge serves as entrance to the swimming area.

C: Aerial view of river swimming pool. The volume changes so that it can be used as a stand during the event. The temporary is transparent and placed over the permanent situation.

06 A: Fragment 3, side view after event B: Fragment 3, frontal view 07 A: Fragment 6, frontal view B: Fragment 6, during event C: Fragment 6, after event

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Architecture

Duisenberg School of Finance 29 September 2008: The stock market crashed. The AEX in Amsterdam went into free fall, plummeting from 412 down to 200 points…

At the same time, a new financial institute was launched in the Netherlands: the Duisenberg School of Finance (DSF). These events inspired a graduation project on the Zuidas business district of Amsterdam.

The crisis presented an interesting opportunity to come up with a new vision for the financial institute. Three key objectives formed the foundation of the plan, operating on the premise that the closed nature of this type of institute had to change. First, the school needs to be incorporated into the city, in contrast to the established institutions that retreat behind the ivy-covered walls of estates outside the big cities.

Second, the building needs to include space for a public programme, ensuring openness, exchange and encounters with the surrounding environment. Third and finally, the students will live in the school. Living together, learning together and doing sports together creates space for the students to build a social network and fosters an atmosphere of healthy competition.

The DSF building is the terminus of a series of city squares starting at the Hilton Hotel and ending at Mahler4 on Gustav Mahlerplein, where the building forms the missing urban wall. The Zuid public transport station, situated opposite the building, gives the school a direct connection to Schiphol and the city of Amsterdam.

The DSF is designed as a cross-pollination of two typologies: forum and cloister. The forum is situated on Mahlerplein, where the covered city square offers room to hold events, host exhibitions and show films. A backbone of escalators runs upward from the forum to ‘cloister hallways’ that connect the various functions on the upper levels, offering access to the sunny ‘cloister gardens’ on the rooftop above the classrooms.

The school is the heart of the building, while the northern section of the tower accommodates all the support functions that keep the school running. Classrooms on the south side face inwards and do not have a view; intense concentration reigns supreme in this part of the building.

The main auditorium occupies the top of the school’s tower, with a view of the old centre of trade. This is where TV recordings are made and lectures and presentations are held on financial activities in Europe.

The Health Club to the east of the school houses a swimming pool, squash courts, a climbing wall and fitness facilities. Student housing is situated along the square, facing west.

And finally, the highest point of the building accommodates a social area: the club adds local nightlife to the Zuidas and offers exclusive entertainment. Students hold parties in the club, intoxicated by the fine wine of knowledge and revelling in the view of Amsterdam.

Graduation date 14 12 2009 Commission members Micha de Haas (mentor) Jo Barnett Hans van der Made Additional members for the examination Bart Bulter Herman Kerkdijk

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Rob ten Napel 01 Plans of DSF 02 General situation 03 The publicly accessible Forum 04 A: maximum length B: maximum width C: thirty-metre-high plinth D: entrance to ABN-Amro blocked E: entrance to ABN-Amro open F: eighty-metre-tall view 05 Section: A section is used to design a tall building

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06 Roof garden: Study gardens for the students 07 Facade: Painted brickwork shows the relation with Amsterdam 08 Auditorium 09 Student house 10 Evening: Night scene on Gustav Mahlerplein 06

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Architecture

Infinity symbol in Leidsche Rijn’s shopping route A city has many faces. This multifaceted versatility is what the urban environment is all about! The city and its high-density setting easily evoke the concept of the core shopping district. These spots often attract huge crowds during the day, only to be abandoned completely in the evening.

After nightfall, shopping districts are transformed into pedestrian walkways, and the front doors of any local housing are generally not situated along the shopping street itself. The area has lost its versatility entirely.

Shopping districts need a makeover!

Core shopping districts should be worth visiting 24 hours a day. This continued activity is intended to prevent the areas from feeling creepy after the shops close their doors for the day. Instead, they should exemplify the versatility of urban life.

The chosen location In Leidsche Rijn, a satellite city to the west of Utrecht, a completely new city centre is being built. The main focus is the area planned as a core shopping district. Starting in Leidsche Rijn and moving towards Utrecht, the planned urban architecture rises gradually from ground level to eight metres, in order to bridge the A2 motorway and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal. Parking facilities and shop supply routes will be situated under this level. City blocks will be built on top of this elevated plane, with shops on the ground floor.

Design In my design, I will restructure the programme in order to contribute to a combination of functions in the area. This will make it possible to include housing at the same level as the shopping streets, incorporating sheltered spots where other activities can take place that emphasize the diversity of the area, such as sidewalk cafĂŠs and play areas.

In addition, rather than having a single shopping street that runs from A to B, a route will run through the area in the form of an infinity loop (∞) or figure eight (8) creating a more appealing shopping route. This means that shoppers do not have to retrace their steps to return to where they started.

Designing this infinity loop to run smoothly across several layers provides daylight access to the lower layers, and functions can be combined more interestingly. A road runs parallel to part of the shopping street, routing cars to the parking garages for local residents and visitors. This will also encourage the local community to use the street more often in the evening, which will contribute to the liveliness of the area.

Graduation date 29 06 2010 Commission members Miguel Loos (mentor) Jan-Richard Kikkert Wouter Veldhuis Additional members for the examination Arnoud Gelauff Bart Bulter

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Architecture 01 Location 02 Concept plans 03 Level -01 04 Level 00 05 Level 01 06 Level 02 07 Barrier 08 Slope 09 Arrivals and canal 10 Connections and canal

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Steven Nobel

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Architecture

Children’s boarding house, ‘a home without a pilothouse’ The riverboat, bearing a home on board, travels endlessly along the canals and rivers.

The child who lives in the sailing home sees an ever-changing horizon through the windows of his bedroom.

The child must go to school; the school stands on piles sunk deep in the ground.

From the front door, the school is sometimes just around the corner, or on the other end of the long canal.

A second home to hold the child’s bedroom.

The horizon through the bedroom window never moves.

The cycle of going and coming, the rhythm of the day, the successive years of the child’s life.

For the first six years, a bargee’s child lives on a ship. After six years on board, the school life on land begins. And this requires a place to live: the children’s boarding house, housing for children whose parents live and work on riverboats. From age six to 18, the children sleep at the boarding house during the week, attending school nearby during the day. They spend weekends and holidays with their parents on the ship. From a floating home to a land-bound house, from family life to a boarding house filled with children, it’s quite a change.

It is a quest for scale and proportion, public, collective and private, the rhythms of everyday life, the unfolding awareness of time and space as children grow older.

The house is in its apprenticeship.

Graduation date 12 12 2009 Commission members Micha de Haas (mentor) Bas Liesker Peter Defesche Additional members for the examination Ady Steketee Judith Korpershoek Nominated for Archiprix

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Architecture

Self-sufficient shelter for the homeless of Moscow ‘BOMZH’ has become an obscenity in modern Russian parlance, originating from the abbreviation for the legal designation of a person ‘without a fixed abode’. That designation applies to 1.5% of the population in Russia. The care facilities available today offer no adequate response to this situation, remaining passive and invisible. They only offer short-term accommodations, and do not help the homeless progress towards social acceptance and a legal existence in their own country.

The concept of a self-sufficient shelter for the homeless target group with the option of step-by-step resocialization is the basis of this design. The hybrid building with its three parallel functions is a social mechanism in which the product made on site acts as a channel of communication.

Three functions: the glasshouse where plants are cultivated, the shelter itself and the market, each providing functional support and energy to the other two. Intertwined, the threefold structure ensures social encounters at various levels, creating a single entity, each facilitating the existence of the others.

It was the same quest to shape the social mechanism, to find a possible counterbalance to the circumstances that brought these people to the streets, that led to the early years of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. During that era, purist and utilitarian ideals were used to develop an architecture for communal housing and labour palaces.

Construction is the starting point for my design, supported by social organization based on condensation, shared households and collective work. The functional model of the 3-in-1 building is comparable to the typology of the fort or the cloister. It protects the people living within its walls, while presenting a powerful front to the world outside.

The public function lies in the heart of the building, connecting the building to the city and driven by the supporting work area. Two main functions define the model: where people live and where people work.

The third function is connection. The location on an island in the Moskva River makes the design highly symbolic, while making it possible to control access to the building. The river plays an important role in the city.

The riverbanks are lined with old forts, the skyscrapers known as Stalin’s Seven Sisters and modern high-rise buildings. Various features of the island create options for agriculture in an urban setting. The bridge is the tangible link between the location and the city. The walls act as a sluice gate, limiting access and protecting the inner area.

Behind the inhabitable walls lies a market square that is open to the public. A functional glasshouse is situated over the covered market square. The internal space rises step by step from the residential units, creating a number of different scales of social interaction. The difference in climate between the residential area and the cultivation area demands a clear separation between these two functions. A ‘condensation wall’ acts as the boundary between the glasshouse and the maisonettes where people live. The climate-controlled cultivation area is situated in front of the wall. An air circulation system between the residential area and the cultivation area provides a CO2-neutral climate, which is also supported by the double facade depending on the season.

Graduation date 08 10 2009 Commission members Chris Scheen (mentor) Holger Gladys Tijmen Ploeg Additional members for the examination Klaas Kingma Madeleine Maaskant

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Architecture

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01 Location 02 West facade 03 East facade 04 Level 00 05 Level 01 06 Level 03 07 Section, roof covering with integrated solar collectors.

08 The condensation wall is the climate divider between the glasshouse and the maisonettes.

09 Section 10 The functional model of the 3-in-1 building is comparable with the fort or cloister. It protects the people living within its walls, while presenting a powerful front to the world. The public function lies in the heart of the building, connecting the building to the city and driven by the supporting work area.

11 Connection to dwellings 12 Connection to facilities 13 Connection to roof gardens 14 Connection to vertical gardens 15 Connection to work galleries 16 Connection to production 17 Connection to market 18 Cultivation space, connection with whole.

19 Space for free time and recreation. Connects the divided continuum.

20 The market square is at street level and is open to the public, but people must cross it to enter the building. Beneath the market square is a concourse at street level.

Market section stands for a commercially equal relation with the city.

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Architecture

Volkspoort, cultural centre for democracy Volkspoort is a design for a cultural centre for democracy, based on the initiative for the Dutch National House of Democracy. There are cultural centres for every conceivable religion and ethnic group, but democracy has no physical platform of this sort in our country. I think it’s a shame, because the Dutch constitutional democracy is an important part of the country’s national identity. Building a physical centre that promotes knowledge through art and activities can contribute to engagement in a democratic society.

Situated in The Hague, the Binnenhof houses the Dutch Prime Minister and the Lower House of Parliament and is the focal point of Dutch democracy, but it lacks a public component. The selected location, the Hofplaats square in the Binnenhof complex, will take on a clear function and identity.

Distributing parts of the programme across the Hofplaats creates a new square that becomes part of the cultural centre as a public democratic space.

The main volume has been kept abstract to put the initial emphasis on the square. The square then flows under the main volume, where a large sunken activity ‘pit’ ensures that the ground floor can remain free of obstacles, enabling people passing by at street level to see through the building. At first, the visitors and passers-by are an uncommitted audience for the activities in the ‘pit’. The programme then divides into two components. One part focuses on a passive experience (exhibition: the story of democracy and its history, current forms, contents, interpretations).

The other, active part invites participation (activities: meetings, events, simulations).

The exhibition space runs along the outer wall of the building with a view of the city and the Binnenhof, while the building’s visitors are visible from the street. The active part of the programme is enclosed in larger, more central spaces and is a level lower than the exhibition rooms. As such, the exhibition space becomes a gallery for the activities, while the activity rooms retain a view of the city. Spaces are stacked in a way that can be experienced as a route, inviting informal use and allowing diverse groups of users to meet and mingle. Various roof terraces and balconies reinforce this impression. The structure is reminiscent of a layered forum: a central square where people come together, and a colonnade for walking and talking in small groups.

The use of materials focuses on layered transparency. The first layer is glass. The second layer is perforated Corten steel, which intensifies the reflection of the glass in certain areas, creating a feeling of alternating openness and seclusion. The third layer around the activity rooms can be opened; this layer is transparent to allow light to enter.

Graduation date 07 07 2010 Commission members Bart van der Vossen (mentor) Peter Defesche Micha de Haas Additional members for the examination Lada Hršak Paul de Vroom

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01 diagram of relations to public 02 Scheme sections 03 Sections 04 Level 01 05 Level 02 06 Level 04 07 Level 05 08 Level 09

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Jeroen Snel

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Urbanism

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New syntheses in the existing city Berlin, Oslo, Deventer head of Urbanism Department

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New syntheses in the existing city

In my inaugural talk two years ago, I discussed my wish for urban design tasks at the Academy to be internationalized. This wish was based primarily on the fact that a change of context is sure to inspire designers and sharpen their analysis of the spatial context, as new and unknown terrains often help open our eyes. I also argued that working on design tasks abroad can hold up a mirror to similar ones in the Dutch context.

In the past two years, a number of international projects have formed part of studio instruction at the Academy: a harbour transformation in the Leith district of Edinburgh, a public space design for Lisbon and a study design on the theme of the street, within the context of the Streetworks lectureship.

Streetworks investigates the spatial, mental and cultural context of the street in Europe. As part of this programme, students have now worked on designing the street in Helsinki, Zagreb, Porto, Edinburgh and Amsterdam.

As part of the studio projects involving foreign tasks, we always work for a short period with the students on location in cooperation with local architecture and urban design schools, as well as with the bodies responsible for urban design in these cities. This in turn conveys to students a picture of designing cultures, trends and tasks in the European city.

Increasingly, those completing their studies have been finding work involving urban tasks abroad, primarily in Europe. This has, in part, to do with practical considerations: typically, students at the Academy work and study, and with such a packed schedule, often cannot afford to make long excursions outside Europe. But it is also in part based on a familial connection to a European architectural tradition which still consists of designing for the urban space, and in which interventions are always viewed from a historical perspective, i.e., a form of urban design that is not limited to two-dimensional frameworks, but rather, makes clear statements on the relationship between architecture and the public space. Is this passé in a time in which urban growth primarily takes place in ‘untamed’ metropolises outside Europe? I don’t think so. The European city is an inexhaustible source of inspiring urban design principles and urban spaces, ones also applied outside Europe – in every imaginable form. Added to this is the fact that, following the conclusion of their study, Academy students work for firms and urban design departments that work within this tradition. At this moment in time, they are often confronted with the challenge of designing for the existing city, this due to cuts, political considerations or simply the fact that the city in question has expanded to such an extent that every potential construction site has come to form an integral part of the urban system. The contributors to this text have worked on such potential spots, once counted amongst the ‘blind spots’ of the city: industrial terrains, disused air fields and large-scale infrastructure.

The projects are located in Berlin, Oslo and Deventer. An automatic plus is the fact that these students have a thorough knowledge of the cities in which they are completing their studies. Tineke de Jong lived for some time in Oslo, Jan Martijn Eekhof has worked, and is still working, in Berlin, and Gregor van Lit grew up in Deventer. The authors search for a far-reaching synthesis of urban systems. Jan Martijn Eekhof transforms Berlin’s Tempelhof airport into

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New syntheses in the existing city

a large-scale urban agricultural zone and links the project to a reinterpretation of the city’s pre-cast slab buildings. Gregor van Lit turns a monofunctional inner harbour in Deventer into a new multifunctional urban environment.

In Oslo, Tineke de Jong develops a layered piece of city, where a new underground station creates space and is coupled to an urban development above it. These interventions not only provide space for new developments, but each also adds a strong new identity to these European cities. A spatial model alone is often not sufficient for attaining an actual synthesis between (at times) incompatible urban systems. For this reason, the authors also investigate how, e.g., environmental regulations, energy provision, food production and the use of public transport all have roles to play in their plans.

Together, the three projects provide valuable insights into the phenomenon of the compact city. According to Dutch government policy, the preponderance of growth and replacement in the coming years is to be realized in existing urban areas. The quantitatively based visions which in the past 50 years led to the creation of growth centres and VINEX areas, are making place for a demand for smart solutions on existing urban territory: an opportunity for urban designers, optimally equipped as they are to give form to new syntheses in the city, to make a contribution. But they cannot do this alone.

The complexity of the required interventions in the existing city is great and relies upon a multitude of disciplines. For example, the future vision sketched

by Gregor van Lit for Deventer can only realized if the existing regulations and underlying revenue models truly change.

At the same time, one might well ask oneself if and how large-scale city-centre transformation tasks can be dealt with in the context of a stagnating economy.

Bottom-up urban development strategies cannot be applied to large-scale infrastructural interventions, as in Tineke de Jong’s Oslo project. For that, much designing energy, money and political will still need to be mobilized. To make existing urban areas attractive and robust, it is precisely these problems that will have to be cracked – enough work to keep urban designers busy!

The plans presented here represent smart urban compaction. Not just as politically correct deeds, but above all as stimulating alternatives which make clear how working with what already exists can result in valuable multi-layered plans. It would be fantastic to buy fresh products in a brim-filled Tempelhof, whilst looking out over Berlin’s greatest open space. Or imagine coming out of Tineke de Jong’s underground line-changing machine with a direct view of the Oslofjord before you.

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Tempelhof, the plantation of Berlin Tempelhof Airport has closed up shop. The airfield and the building are empty and awaiting their new purpose.

It is a controversial spot. The gigantic terminal was the most ambitious building project of the Nazi regime. After the war, the air bridge turned the airport into the dramatic birthplace of the Cold War. It became the city’s food distribution centre.

The airport’s closure frees up a vast amount of space in an extremely accessible location at the heart of the city. However, this is not an isolated occurrence in Berlin. The city is a slow, languorous metropolis with limited market pressure. Developments have all the time and space they need. As a result, the city will be developed in ways that do not involve large-scale properties.

The ‘plantation of Berlin’ project links urban development to food.

Tempelhof will return to its post-war roots as a food centre.

The mechanisms of food production, distribution, consumption and processing will be the driving force behind the emergence of a robust urban landscape in Berlin.

It is a landscape that has many faces. ‘Porous’ building blocks between the orchards allow people to pass through, forming the link between the growing tapestry of the urban weave and a panoramic production landscape. Becoming a living monument, the food terminal will be opened up for urban use and offers spectacular public spaces with views of the city, the field and the building.

Graduation date 19 04 2010 Commission members Bart Stoffels (mentor) Ivonne de Nood Luc Vrolijks Additional members for the examination Tess Broekmans Ellen Marcusse Nominated for Archiprix

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01 Plan area 02 The three main elements: A: frame for city and orchard, B: frame for agriculture, C: frame for regional food terminal (laboratory, greenhouse, university, transhipment centre, market hall, gastronomy and club) 03 Detail of plan drawing 04 The porous building block; three block types 05 North wing terminal: greenhouse and laboratory 06 Longitudinal section: access tower, roof landscape and pedestrian bridge 07 Centre for innovative food production 08 Agriculture block

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Oslo station district The area where the Oslo station now lies, once a lively port of call for Viking ships and other vessels, has become a ragged fringe dominated by infrastructure. Urban structures and landscape features, such as the Akerselva River, are interrupted here. Along the water itself, a transformation of the port area has been set in motion. A lively waterfront has emerged, but the station area blocks the city from the fjord. The station is a central point in the city, but the public space has limited significance.

However, the pedestrian zones and public areas have generally been elevated and pushed into the commercialized interiors of (megalomaniac) buildings. Oslo is growing rapidly, and the station is expected to need to accommodate 275,000 passengers a day in 2020, twice as many as it handles now. These developments in the station, the public space and the urban relations, demand an integrated response.

On the scale of the city, the railway tunnel and the car tunnel of the ring road are extended. This creates room to extend the landscape axis of the Akerselva River, bringing the river back into the light of day. The most important urban axis, Karl Johans gate in the old city centre, is linked to the river via the station square. In the plan, both lines converge, introducing structure and identity in the station district and making the city as a whole easier to read.

The station is an efficiently designed transfer machine operating on three layers, two of which are below ground level. This creates room for the number of passengers to grow, cutting transfer times in half. The functions are structured according to the speed of the users. A passenger hurrying to catch a train does not need the same design and functions as a passenger who will need to wait several hours. Slow-paced functions like the lounge and the waiting areas are linked to the ground level of the city, with the transfer zone one level down. The lowest level is designated as the travel domain.

Placing the railway lines underground creates room at ground level. The area around the station becomes a dynamic place to live, with the city, the station, and the river and fjord just around the corner. This ensures that the area will remain lively, social and safe, even in the evening. The station and shopping functions will be reconnected to the public space, while blind facades will vanish. The station entrance is located in a central position on the station square, where the public space continues into the station.

Functions not directly related to travel or expedited transfers have been pulled from the heart of the station out into the city, lending the area a new and lively buzz of activity.

The station district has been transformed from a barrier into an urban convergence that unites different levels and themes.

Graduation date 30 08 2010 Commission members Hans van der Made (mentor) Pieter Jannink Xander Vermeulen Windsant Additional members for the examination Ad de Bont Ellen Marcusse

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01 History A: 1300 - Oslo on east side river bay with harbour B: 1700 Christiania on westside, Oslo degrades C:1900 Industry dominates along river and bay D:2010 Infrastructural domination of highway and station 02 Visions and interventions A: Problem: void in the city B: Goal: connect city to waterfront C: Extend instrastructure underground D: Open river to fjord E: Spatial and functional connections 03 Axes in the city

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Deventer reloaded Urbanization of Deventer’s business district by interlinking, interweaving and intensifying.

The first offices in Deventer’s industrial estate were built in the early 1920s, after which the area experienced rapid growth. It now covers nearly 4000 hectares and is four times the size of the city centre.

Deventer is currently expanding its available work area (A1 industrial estate: 120 hectares, 60 hectares of which can be developed) on the south side of the A1 motorway. I believe that there is certainly enough undeveloped space within the current area (about 190 hectares), but it would take more energy, effort and planning to develop a higher-density and more urban environment at that location. In addition, it is unlikely businesseo still want to be in monofunctional estates along motorways; instead, they are searching for more dynamic, lively environments.

More thorough development rather than expansion not only has a positive impact on landscape preservation, but also avoids inefficient use of the available space, prevents businesses from moving away (leading to empty buildings) and ensuring that the current industrial estate remains a coherent whole (powerful spatial cluster).

Realizing this ambition would require a new vision for the area. My vision for the business district of Deventer sees it becoming a dynamic centre of work, where people work, live and play. This could be made possible by re-zoning and expanding the options of the programme, linked to utilization and intensification of the main spatial elements.

Re-zoning would involve simplifying the traditional division of functions into offices, businesses, heavy industry, etc. In addition, the expansion of the options in the programme should lead to a combination of functions. The new zoning of the business district is linked to the main spatial elements.

The business district is linked to and interwoven with the city and the landscape, relying on the close proximity to the historic city centre and the water network of the IJssel, the Schipbeek, the locks and the port with its inlets.

My strategy includes the gradual transformation of the area into a multifunctional urban district.

Graduation date 28 06 2010 Commission members Ad de Bont (mentor) Roy Bijhouwer Bruno Doedens Additional members for the examination Tess Broekmans Ron van Genderen Nominated for Archiprix

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101 01 Map of ambitions showing new zoning (work centre, work landscape and work fields) 02 Growth model 2025 03 Growth model 2040

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04 Current situation in Deventer, power of the work area’s spatial clustering (400 ha.)

05 Decreasing instead of increasing 06 New work 07 Concept: expand and strengthen main spatial elements A: make use of water network B: connect with the city centre C: draw in the landscape, ‘green lungs’ 08 Mixture of functions 09 Map of rules of the game for part of the Havenkwartier area 10 Gradual transformation of dynamism of Havenkwartier 2010 – 2012 - 2017 - 2026

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Water Development of surroundings Green (grass, trees, etc.)

Public bank Drawbridge Slow traffic connection Zebra crossing Fixed building alignment (min. 80% developed) Flexible building alignment Parcellation ‘Striking’ buildings to be retained Building height max.30 m Building height max.20m Zone with limited building height owing to view of tall silo Possible development location parking garage (with municipality)

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Graduating means taking a stand head of Landscape Architecture Department

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The Betuwe district and the railway line named after it, a strategy for the Zeeland Delta, a drinking-water machine in the Alblasserwaard polder, a new catchment basin for the River Meuse, coal mines in the Campine, marl extraction in Limburg, a calcium silicate quarry in Ossendrecht, a green river between Arnhem and Nijmegen, new heathlands in north-east Twente, tidal reinforcement in Lake IJssel and the multifunctional Enclosure Dam: in the past 15 years, these were amongst the prize-winning plans in the competition for best graduation landscape architecture plan, the Archiprix. In the words of the jury, they represent: ‘Planning in the tradition of Dutch public-utility construction’, and ‘with a realistic approach to the problems currently facing the countryside’.

These were graduation projects involving a high level of scale and a complex task of current importance. The objects of the jury’s praise have included a ‘comprehensive approach, involving all levels of scale and all relevant disciplines’, and a ‘convincing strategy, elaborated into concrete, imaginative designs’. High scores have also been attained by plans which despite a ‘high degree of complexity nevertheless exhibit extraordinary structural clarity’, are ‘based on impressive research’ or feature ‘a high degree of urgency together with [...] great persuasiveness’.

This explains why such complex, large-scale graduation projects, involving all relevant levels of scale – from strategy to concrete elaboration – are so popular amongst students of landscape architecture. Even if a high level of scale is not everyone’s strongest point, there is a clear tendency towards large or even larger-scale projects. But a large-scale, complex task naturally does not automatically result in a good graduation project, much less an Archiprix.

Landscape architecture is a discipline with a variety of levels of scale, from courtyard to regional landscape, and landscape architecture students at the Academy come into contact with all of them. Some students turn out to be incredibly good in strategic thinking at high levels of scale – others reveal a great talent for designing at low levels of scale.

When choosing a graduation project, students generally do not limit themselves to what they do best as a guide, but also base their decision on their interests and aspirations – which in principle is good and should be encouraged. It is also good that students choose their own projects, and that in making their choice, they derive inspiration from current developments as well as their own passions. Indeed, our field’s right to exist increasingly will depend on the ability of landscape architects to react rapidly to current social, economic and ecological developments, and it is essential that they excel based on individuality of approach and style.

But what to do if students’ interests and aspirations and their actual strengths are miles apart? Students can make it extremely difficult for themselves with their choice of end-of-study project, with graduating sometimes becoming a ‘tour de force.’

Graduating means taking a stand

This appears to have been the case for the three students of landscape architecture who graduated in 2010. In choosing their projects, each of them strayed from their real strengths and the level of scale appropriate for them.

Martijn, for example, is a conceptual thinker, a highly motivated researcher.

This is his strength. But for his graduation assignment, he chose a project involving the design of public space. José, on the other hand, a genuine aesthete and a highly talented designer with an excellent feel for (fine) details, opted for devising a plan that would work best within a strategy at a high level of scale.

I should like to take a stand for graduation projects that are not only current but also perfectly suited to the students in question. These projects should be a perfect fit between the task chosen and the designers’ talents, in turn enabling them to perform to the best of their abilities. The starting points for a good choice are the nature of the end-product and, crucially, the level of scale at which the student will be designing. For good results, a good fit is a must.

Many current landscape tasks are not served well by preset end visions, but rather, a designing process dedicated to ‘living systems’. Such an approach has more to do with giving guidance to processes and devising strategies, with aesthetics coming in as a derivative of these. The idea is to influence rather than ‘make’ – laying out the basis and allowing the rest to come of itself, letting landscapes grow by giving the requisite supervision to small-scale, often private, initiatives. This calls for a different type of designing, employing tools and visualizing techniques other than those used in the traditional craft of designing.

There are also tasks where designing takes centre stage. Beauty is once again playing a leading role in the landscape discussion now being carried on across society – in political circles at the national level the slogan is ‘our beautiful Netherlands’. In other words, designing from an aesthetic perspective is clearly (still or once again) current, but with the proviso that one’s design has a conceptual underlying idea. Landscapes get their beauty from their productivity, robustness and how well they lend themselves to manifold uses.

Ecology will be assigned an ever greater role and nature itself is becoming a substantial building block for both the landscape and the urban space.

Useless design elements, purely intended to ‘beautify’ the urban public space will make place for urban gardening and nature in the city, calling for a high degree of attention to the minutiae of detailing and a meticulous approach to choosing one’s materials. In other words: there is a great demand for the craft of designing, for designing with originality of style and artistic expression.

Within the context of the urgent tasks coming at the profession from both the European and global contexts, students have a wealth of opportunities to take on more of a directing or designing role, as well as to demonstrate their engagement vis-à-vis current developments. Regardless of whether the role involved is as designer or as strategist: graduating means taking a stand.

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Fort Cochin reconquered Situated along the south-west coast of India, founded by the Portuguese, rebuilt by the Dutch and passed into English hands, the former fortified city of Fort Cochin slowly subsided into a dead museum town. In an attempt to preserve the past, the city government obstructs new developments. The fort is increasingly becoming a stage set for tourists to visit. My design for the outdoor areas around the fort intends to give the old fort significance for the people living in the surrounding city, thus restoring vitality to the fort.

Rather than recreating a single moment from its layered past, a new chapter is being written in the Fort Cochin story.

The strategy I want to use in order to have the local community to appropriate ownership of the fort consists of three targeted interventions.

The first is to set in motion a long-term development that transforms the neglected coastline into a recreational attraction for the surrounding city.

Second, a physical change will link the coastline to the ancient heart of the fort. Finally, the historic relics that often remain concealed within the fort will be made accessible and visible, and accommodations will be made for initiatives by third parties.

The focal point of the design is in the coastal zone of the fort. In addition to an unbroken, shady boulevard, I suggest a characteristically Dutch addition: a water feature. A reef will be added along the entire coastline, which will introduce new dynamics in the landscape and how it is used.

The new beach landscape that will emerge in the shelter of the reef will eventually protect the former fortress from the Arabian Sea, which is progressively eating away more and more land. The defence measures intended to hold at bay the hostile encroachers from across the water have now become defences against the water itself. The beach landscape can also be used by the people of the city, as well as an anchorage for fishing boats, a local economy. The fort will be reconquered by the people living around it!

Graduation date 30 06 2010 Commission members Harm Veenenbos (mentor) Bruno Doedens Eric Luiten Additional members for the examination Marieke Timmermans RenĂŠ van der Velde

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111 01 The vanished Dutch fortifications projected onto the existing situation.

02 Quality map In the book World Heritage Site: Olinda in Brazil, Paul Meurs discusses the tiny fortified town of Olinda, Brazil and recommends not planning the ideal future for the entire city.

Accepting the resilient strictures of reality, he urges his readers to identify the absolute quality of the city at various scales, suggesting that all the effort, funding and communications should focus on these aspects. With this in mind, a ‘quality map’ was drawn up, summarizing the most important qualities of Fort Cochin. This map was used as the foundation of the design.

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13 View of boulevard 14 View of reef, north side 15 View of reef, south side 16 View of connection between coastal strip and old heart 17 View of relict

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01 Nationality of buildings 02 Condition of buildings 03 Functions of buildings 04 Materials in public space 05 Use of public space 06 Walls on edges of plot 07 Centuries-old trees 08 Remnants of fortress wall 09 Undeveloped plots 10 Existing situation: coastal erosion threatens Fort Cochin 11 Interventions in coastal strip: reef and boulevard 12 Situation after 15 years: recreation, anchorage and coastal defenc

Martijn Al

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The connecting park VIA 15 Rotterdam is a lively city. Its diverse and dynamic nature is an important part of its identity. Experimenting with large-scale, robust architectural innovations has created a powerful visual impression that defines Rotterdam’s image. Unfortunately, that same sweeping scale is not applied in the public realm. Public green spaces are often less than ideal, criss-crossed by infrastructure and buildings until only fragments remain.

A striking example of this city’s lack of vision is the urban periphery between Rotterdam and Barendrecht.

Tucked away behind the A15 and the sound barrier of the Betuwe rail line, a strip of green lies forgotten, consisting of a number of green fragments collectively referred to as the Zuidelijk Randpark (Southern Edge Park). It consists of a loose gathering of tiny pools, grass and forest complexes.

The city has turned its back on this urban fringe to face the rivers on either side of the city. This junction where the motorways intersect lies abandoned in this vacuum. Instead of the grand entrance it could be, the moment when the city introduces itself to the visitor, this location lacks any connection to the robust city.

In my view, the entire area along the edge of the city should be seen as a single entity, an overall park landscape, and redesigned accordingly.

It should be a landscape with a strong, robust image, characteristic of Rotterdam, appealing to the city’s inhabitants and to passing motorists.

To the people of Rotterdam, the ‘connecting park’ becomes the envisioned urban periphery as the gateway to the area outside. Building on the theme of urban agriculture, the agrarian principle will be revitalised.

The design is based on two important cornerstones: the Super-Ribbon and the Super-Dike.

The Super-Ribbon is constructed from the existing ribbon-like structure of the historic dike and the former rail embankment as a line of recovery.

The Koedood creek is a connecting element, a recreational route that leads under the A15 motorway to the area outside the city. There are three landmarks along the Super-Ribbon: the local farmlands, yielding produce that is sold in the daily market on Groene Kruisweg; the care farm and assisted living homes along the ‘recovery ribbon’; and the mouth of the Koedood creek where it flows into the pond.

The Super-Dike is part of the motorway experience. As soon as the road crosses into the city, it is embraced by the connecting park. The park is defined by a strong dike 15 metres high on both sides of the A15. The entrances to the city are designated by high landmarks: one 30 metres high on the theme of ‘car city’ (business park), and the other 50 metres high on the theme of ‘sport city’ (world-class swimming pool, diving school and large indoor ski hall).

The new zone on the urban periphery is a dynamic and robust park on the urban fringe, where Rotterdam welcomes its visitors and offers its inhabitants the rich harvest of its welcoming environs, drawing them in as customers, recreational visitors or urban farmers.

Graduation date 02 06 2010 Commission members Ben Kuipers (mentor) Joost van Hezewijk David van Zelm van Eldik Additional members for the examination Marieke Timmermans Harm Veenenbos

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Problem Rotterdam Zuid and Barendrecht are essentially a single city, separated only by the vacuum created by the A15 motorway and the Betuwe railway line.

Ideas behind the formation of the Super-Dike Offering a landscape appropriate to high-speed travel. The places where the roads enter the city will be marked as gateways to the city.

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This vacuum is filled with urban fringe functions that can bear the noise. The city turns its back on this urban periphery to face the rivers on either side of the city.

The entrances to the city will be supraregional recreational attractions, consisting of Rotterdam Sport City and Rotterdam Car City.

body of dike water grassland pasture land arable farming historical ribbon tree nursery sports fields allotment garden rugged nature Waalhaven urban area healthcare complex cemetery crematorium

old railway dike cycle lanes and footpaths neighbourhood and town roads historical Barendrecht mill electricity mast bridge existing cycle lanes metro tram sound barrier avenues and wooded areas

Katja Beeker

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Aim To give the urban periphery a positive charge by designing the peripheral zone as a single, unified park landscape.

Historic ribbon and the water connection Revitalize agrarian use and Restoration of the historic ribbon allotment structure. across the old railway embankment.

Super-Dike · The outline of the park is defined by a robust 15-metre-high dike on both sides of the A15. · The entrances to the city are marked by higher topographical landmarks with supraregional attractions: Car City, 30 metres high; and Sport City, 50 metres high. · Car City: car park with a racetrack and motocross terrain. Sport City: stacked programme containing a swimming pool for top athletes, diving school and indoor ski hall. The top floors offer an excellent view of the port and the Nieuwe Maas River, overlooking the future landscape park of Buijtenland and the Oude Maas River.

Bring the water as far as possible into the defined area.

Concept Two speeds converge: the fast super-dike versus the slow superribbon and the allotment structure along it. The water is the connecting element between the two that feeds the area.

Super-Ribbon · The Super-Ribbon follows the historic line of the dike and incorporates the former rail embankment as a restoration ribbon. · The Super-Ribbon carries a close-knit landscape of urban agriculture, revitalizing the agrarian foundation. · The connecting element of the Koedood creek is a recreational route that crosses under the A15 motorway, providing access to the area outside.

Landscape Architecture

Borderline Tussen 1834 en 1950 functioneerde de grens letterlijk als scheiding tussen Nederland en België. Met de komst van de Europese Unie in 1950 is de grens een nationale grens geworden en heeft geen controlefunctie meer. De grens laat nu alleen nog zien het scheidpunt zien tussen de Nederlandse en Belgische wetgeving. Maar hoe lang zal dat nog duren?

Onlangs hebben we onze stem moeten uitbrengen of we het eens of oneens zijn met één wetgeving voor heel Europa.

De grens is op de dag van vandaag nauwelijks zichtbaar in het landschap.

Enkel gietijzeren grenspalen en leegstaande grenskantoren doen ons herinneren aan de grens. Toch worden we ons gewaar van een verandering wanneer we de fictieve lijn passeren. De huizen zijn anders, de weg is anders, de maximaal toegestane snelheid is anders. Het zijn deze verschillen die we ervaren als zijnde de grens.

Uit het onderzoek komt naar voren dat de werkelijke grens, als een afgesproken lijn door het landschap, niet echt interessant is. Deze grens is ‘onzichtbaar’. Interessanter zijn de grensfenomenen. De grens schept bepaalde condities en omstandigheden waardoor er landschappen en activiteiten aan, op en langs de lijn zijn ontstaan. Deze ruimtelijke en programmatische fenomenen maken het mogelijk de grens te beleven, te voelen en te ervaren.

Statement Is de grens nu wel zo waardevol? Cultuurhistorisch gezien niet. Maar het landschap en de activiteiten die door de komst van de grens zijn ontstaan wel. Door gebruik te maken van de condities die de grens schept, zowel ruimtelijk als programmatisch, ontstaan er kansen voor het ontwikkelen van het grenslandschap van de toekomst.

Ontwerp Middels een visionair ontwerp wordt het toekomstige bestaansrecht van de huidige grens aangetoond. Een ‘vergeten’ plek en tussenzone, een grensfenomeen, wordt met landschappelijke middelen getransformeerd naar een agrarisch revolutionair tussengebied.

Een brandnetelplantage, een extreme teeltwijze afwijkend van de omringende agrarische activiteiten, markeert de vergeten plek. De brandnetel is een milieuvriendelijk alternatief voor de katoenvezel en biedt economisch perspectief. De winning van de textielvezel geschiedt door de omwonende boeren. De verwerking van brandnetelvezel naar kledingstuk gebeurt in de abdij van Postel. De verkoop van de kleding vindt plaats in de abdij, op de voormalige grensovergang aan de A67 en in de nabij gelegen modestad Antwerpen.

Een veld vol prikkende brandnetels van 3 meter hoog maakt het gebied letterlijk onbegaanbaar. Dit maakt de grens, de plantage als tussenzone, beleefbaar. Het zicht op de bosrand van de plantage, welke de nieuwe grens van Nederland en België vormt, verandert door de seizoenen heen. En wie zich een weg door de brandnetelmassa durft te banen, over het netelpad met follies, ervaart de impact van de brandnetels en de verschillende zichtspunten op de grens.

Graduation date 09 09 2010 Commission members Joost van Hezewijk (mentor) Leo Pols Jeroen Doorenweerd Additional members for the examination Bruno Doedens Harma Horlings

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01 Border phenomena mapped Legend Border economy Sex club + erotic shop Snack area Pub Liquor store Petrol station Border landscape In-between zone Hotspot Magnetic strip 02 Nettle plantation, visionary design shows the future justification for the current border: from ‘forgotten’ place to agrarian revolutionary in-between zone 03 Folly observation bridge

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JosÊ Vorstermans 04 Seasonal dynamism determines the view across the in-between zone and the borders - March: inundation with spray system - July: almost ripe crops - September: cutting and allowing to soak 05 Border phenomena can reduced to 3 spatial models - in-between zone, emptiness, forgotten areas, leftover space, no man’s land - hotspot, junction, entrance, gateway, beacon, free state - magnetic strip, activity strip, boulevard 06 Impression of nettle path through nettle field 07 Impression of nettle field as interim zone

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Jury report on Archiprix nominations 2011 chairman of the jury

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Jury report on Archiprix 2010 nominations

Archiprix is the annual prize awarded for the best graduation work from Dutch schools of architecture. For years, the Academy has scored comparatively well is this competition. Last year’s first prize went to architect Jeroen Atteveld for his Thermen Westpoort project. The Amsterdam Academy of Architecture can nominate four projects for the prize. This year 21 projects were assessed – 15 architecture, three urban design and three landscape projects. The jury was made up of Academy members Marieke Timmermans, head of landscape architecture, Rogier van den Berg, head of urbanism, Machiel Spaan, head of architecture and Aart Oxenaar, director.

Bernardo Secchi, urban planner at the Studio Associato Bernardo Secchi Paola Viganò, in Milan, acted as visiting critic.

Seven projects were selected in the first round on account of their exceptional theme, the clarity of their approach and the power of their design. These projects were, in alphabetical order, by Amber Beernink, Anna Borisova, Tatjana Djordjevic, Jan Martijn Eekhof, Collin van Kooten, Gregor van Lit, and Thomas van Nus. In the second round the focus shifted to a closer examination of the relevance of the problem addressed, the level of research into the problem, the consistency with which that research was conducted, the development of the project at different scales and the individual character of the design. In the discussion that followed, Secchi put forward ‘imagination’ as the most significant assessment criterion, and observed that there was no lack of it in the projects. In addition, he argued that architecture should be easy: ‘a project must be understood immediately and it must be clear how to use it’. Moreover, he stressed that ‘drawing is an act of communication’ and that ‘suggestive drawings can irritate’. He added that ‘every line should reveal an awareness that architecture is something that has a materiality’.

The following four projects were unanimously nominated:

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Jury report on Archiprix 2011 nominations

Anna Borisova, The school.

This plan aims to develop a new typology for the triangular relation between child, family and school. It abolishes the formal, institutional divisions between those worlds so that the child’s room, home and school connect with one another smoothly. At the same time, the architect introduces new spatial forms to enable everyone to develop their talents to the full in the transitional zones. The location, straddling the edge that separates land from water, is exploited in this scheme to allow that transition to become part of this new world of living and learning.

Jan Martijn Eekhof, Tempelhof, the plantation of Berlin.

In this scheme, the physical and spatial traces of one of the biggest events of the last century acquire, in an almost casual manner, a special place in the gradual transformation of the Berlin metropolis. The architectural megalomania of the Nazi-built Tempelhof Airport and the intense memories of the Cold War – when the airfield functioned as part of the air bridge that brought food to West Berlin – are transformed into a surprising and relevant new form of city building. The result is a subtle combination of an urbanized agricultural area and an agricultural city.

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Jury report on Archiprix 2011 nominations

Gregor van Lit, Deventer reloaded.

The potential of inner-city development – a highly topical theme at the moment – is eloquently highlighted in this project. The strategy is an intelligent response to local dynamics. The regulations facilitate a free transformation of the area. With almost surgical precision, an abandoned, monotonous area on the edge of the historical city centre can thus blossom into a lively, multipurpose urban district with a character of its own.

Thomas van Nus, Children’s boarding house.

A large measure of authenticity is what sets this project apart. The theme is very specific: a form of housing for bargemen’s children, who spend their weekdays on shore so that they can attend school. Owing to the way the design is elaborated, however, its implications extend far wider and can be applied to housing in general. The sketches and designs reveal a passionate analysis of every aspect of the programme, and every part of the building is seized upon to examine what the profession of the architect is essentially about. A sense of reality and modesty – the project blends effortlessly into the city – are linked here to a profound elaboration and the courage to make fundamental choices.

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Amsterdam Academy of Architecture Master of Architecture – Urbanism – Landscape Architecture

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Architects, urban designers and landscape architects learn the profession at the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture through an intensive combination of work and study. They work in small, partly interdisciplinary groups and are supervised by a select group of practising fellow professionals. There is a wide range of options within the programme so that students can put together their own trajectory and specialisation. With the inclusion of the course in Urbanism in 1957 and Landscape Architecture in 1972, the academy is the only architecture school in the Netherlands to bring together the three spatial design disciplines.

Some 350 guest tutors are involved in teaching every year. Each of them is a practising designer or a specific expert in his or her particular subject. The three heads of department also have design practices of their own in addition to their work for the Academy. This structure yields an enormous dynamism and energy and ensures that the courses remain closely linked to the current state of the discipline.

The courses consist of projects, exercises and lectures. First-year and second-year students also engage in morphological studies. Students work on their own or in small groups. The design projects form the backbone of the curriculum. On the basis of a specific design assignment, students develop knowledge, insight and skills. The exercises are focused on training in those skills that are essential for recognising and solving design problems, such as analytical techniques, knowledge of the repertoire, the use of materials, text analysis, and writing. Many of the exercises are linked to the design projects. The morphological studies concentrate on the making of spatial objects, with the emphasis on creative process and implementation. Students experiment with materials and media forms and gain experience in converting an idea into a creation.

During the periods between the terms there are workshops, study trips in the Netherlands and abroad, and other activities. This is also the preferred moment for international exchange projects. The academy regularly invites foreign students for the workshops and recruits well-known designers from the Netherlands and further afield as tutors.

Graduates from the Academy of Architecture are entitled to the following titles: Master of Architecture (MArch), Master of Urbanism (MUrb), or Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA). The Master’s diploma gives direct access to the Register of Architects (Stichting Bureau Architectenregister, SBA) in The Hague.

The Academy of Architecture is part of the Amsterdam School of the Arts (AHK), as are the Theatre School, the Amsterdam School for Music, the Netherlands Film and Television Academy, the Academy for Art Education, and the Reinwardt Academy. The AHK, which was founded in 1987, offers a full range of bachelor’s and master’s courses in the field of music, dance, theatre, film and television, architecture, fine art and cultural heritage. The link with arts education underlines the particular importance that the Academy of Architecture attaches to the artistic aspect in the professional practice of architects, urban designers and landscape architects.

Colophon Academy of Architecture Waterlooplein 213 1011 PG Amsterdam The Netherlands T +31 (0)20 531 8218 info@bwk.ahk.nl www.academyofarchitecture.nl Advisory Board Rogier van den Berg Machiel Spaan Marieke Timmermans Editorial Board Aart Oxenaar Machiel Spaan Klaas de Jong Editor-In-Chief Klaas de Jong Translation Billy Nolan Copy Editing Mark Speer Photography models Hans Krßse Graphic Design Studio Sander Boon Amsterdam Printing Pantheon drukkers Velsen-Noord Binding Van Waarden Zaandam Š 2010 Amsterdam Academy of Architecture Architectura & Natura Publishers www.architectura.nl ISBN 9789461400130

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09/10 Graduation Projects features the work of students who earned their degree during the 2009-2010 academic year at the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture. The projects by the 23 Masters of Architecture, Urbanism and Landscape Architecture are introduced by visiting critic Bernardo Secchi.

Amsterdam Academy of Architecture: Architecture – Urbanism – Landscape Architecture is a series that presents the results of research, reflections and projects at the academy. Designers and researchers at the school write about fascinations, questions and assignments dealt with in education and in professional practice.

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