STUDY PROJECTS          ST.LUCAS  GENT          upc barcelona       1991-1995

VIP RESIDENCIES

Design 3-7 VIP-residencies in this fictious landscape of a river in a valley with a slow inclination at one side, a steep one at the other side and a wall with given proportions perpendicular built over the river so that boats still can pass underneath.

scenic living for musicians in and around a bunker in Waldam-calais

Personification of the 3 musicians: They play dark-alternative-experimental music. They don’t feel at ease with the existing society, the way of life, the politics, the all-outplanned life they are supposed to live according to all the rules, beliefs and ethics of the social society. They think they can get more out of life when living more freely, chaotic, not bounded by rules and ethics. That is why they want to live in such a chaotic, desolate, rough and thorny landscape.

Their house has to be seen also in this context and ideas. It has to be similar to a camp that small children often build, as a place of their own, far away and desolate, no contact with social environment, away from the world with all its rules, norms and ethics. A place without any intruder, a place where they are not bound, where they can be free, where they can get more out of life, where they, without obstacles, can be themselves.

The house of the 3 musicians, to be seen as a camp, has all the characteristics of such a camp. Like children use a tree or an other existing object to graft their camp upon, so is, here, the bunker used as an object, a piece of furniture upon which the entire structure of the residency is grafted.

The main elements of the structure are emphazed so one can feel its symbolic meaning and function: the anchor, with the entire structure is grafted on the bunker, the floor-joists,the beams,the arched-roof-joists and all the tube-columns that make up the outer-spacial-skin-framework.

There are no ordinary furniture-objects, all is integrated in the structure, the dividing paneels and floors. There are lots of open-free spaces.

revitalizing complex managers flanders

The site: a cultural landscape, dominated by a cove-stream and a dyke. The landscape is the result of the gaining of land from the sea, and is now a protected environment. The dyke can be seen as boundary between the water and the landscape. This is merely the historical meaning of the dyke. Nowadays, one can also see the dyke as a boundary between the now-existing cultural landscape and the industry, civilazation ,… behind the dyke. A boundary to stop the industry from expanding into the nature-resort and valuable culture-landscape.

A safe spot to build is ON the dyke, so that you have a look-out on both sides of het dyke. Container-shapes are used to express the symbolic meaning of the industry being stopped. Also,these container-shapes fit perfectly well in the way the wind has shaped the trees and rules over the landscape.

university librabry toledo spain

The site is a steep slope along one of the ancient boundary-walls of Toledo. The rhythm of the buttresses is interrupted            study university library toledo    The idea was to continue this rhythm with the building in such a way that the building is placed in an unique spot       study university library toledo    study university library toledo

There is one line grafted in the site by the natural drainage of water. This line is lower than the rest of the site and would be the easiest way to get up to the wall from beneath. The entrance and centre of the building is situated over this part in such a manner that the original part of the site is maintained partly in the building. The grafted line is continued inside, as vertical circulation, realized by several ramps and stairs going up to the highest level, onto the wall

congress expo brussels

The site: Ninhoofse Poort-Brussel

– Site analyse: open-closeness of the site and surroundings.

– The openess of the site does not restrict to the site itself but extends onto the open spaces at the other side of the canal and the open spaces of the canal itself.

To realise a binding between the 2 opposite sides of the canal, it was opted to extend the square behind the Ninhoofse Poort onto the canal.     congresexpo ninhoofse poort, brussels            congresexpo ninhoofse poort, brussels            congresexpo ninhoofse poort, brussels

Transverse on this, the building is situated so that underneath the auditorium-block, an exterior foyer is created. The building is situated in such a way that it embrases the existing openess of the site and more or less closes up towards the ring and adjoining buildings. Though, by passing the square-extention into the building, there remains a certain connection with the ring and the Ninhoofse Poort on one hand, and the opposite side of the canal on the other hand. The ring is brought partly underground, underneath the square-extention, where the cars comming from the Ninhoofse steenweg connect. Public transportation remains on city-level with stops for bus, tram and taxi at the exterior-foyer, under the auditorium-block.

The building is situated in such a manner that, comming from the South, one experiences the large-scale-building with a view on the total length of the building. Because of the transparency of the building, one can see the yellow auditorium-volumes inside, so that it is immediatly clear what kind of builing is presented here. congresexpo ninhoofse poort, brussels Comming from the other side, one has visual sights underneath the auditorium-block onto the exterior foyer.

From the exterior foyer, a ramp forms as well the entrance, as well the enterior-foyer onto the counter-vestaire. At the same level, behind this, the administration is situated. Above this part: all the telecommunication (fax, telephone,..) and program-bulletin-area with seatingplaces. This area is an extension of the interior-foyer, with a lookout on it.            congresexpo ninhoofse poort, brussels Next to the ramp forming the foyer, there are 2 smaller ramps. One going down to the parking, and the other giving a direct connection, underneath the square-extention, with the other side of the building, where the restaurant, cafeteria and hotel are situated. For this part, two direct entrances are foreseen: one from the waterside and the other from above, from the open-space-extension of the exterior foyer.            congresexpo ninhoofse poort, brussels The entire building ‘floats’ above an open-air-parking at -7m from city-level at one side, and above an open-space-area at the other side. Constructively seen, above the parking, the building manifests itself as a pedestal with lots of columns at close distance, while above the open-space-are, a more floating effect is sought with larger columns at greater distance so that the auditorium-block ‘floats’ above the exterior-foyer and the open-space-area. The meeting rooms are stuck at the underside of the auditorium-block to emphasize this floating effect.