independent periodical of the faculty of architecture and

B
INDEPENDENT PERIODICAL OF THE FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT TU DELFT
05
Colofon
Editorial
Bnieuws
Volume 49
Edition 05
20 January 2016
FUTURE PLANS
Contact
Room BG.Midden.140
Julianalaan 134
2628 BL Delft
bnieuws-bk@tudelft.nl
Editorial Team
Daphne Bakker
Lotte Dijkstra
Kseniya Otmakhova
Jip Pijs
Editorial Advice
Emily Parry
Contributors
Florian Beukeboom
Olindo Caso
Paul van Eijden@Flickr
Jamal van Kastel
Phoebus Panigyrakis
Emily Parry
Pierijn van der Putt
Veerle Rigter
Cover
De Blauwe Loper
by BSc 5 ON5 - group 9
see also p. 14
Editorial Advice Board
Robert Nottrot
Pierijn van der Putt
Marcello Soeleman
Ivan Thung
Linda de Vos
Next Deadline
1st of February 12.00
Bnieuws Volume 49 Issue 06
16 February 2016
Illustrations only in *.tif,
*.eps or *.jpg format,
min. 300 dpi
Printed by
Druk. Tan Heck
1.300 copies
© All rights reserved.
Although all content is
treated with great care,
errors may occur.
SPEAK
20
Waste Materials?
23
Honger
34
Coffee For the Mind
CREATE
06
Constructing the Future of Rotterdam
30
Constructing the Commons
LEARN
12
Game. Set. Match?
EXPLORE
18
24
A new year does not necessarily mean the beginning of something new at the Faculty.
On the contrary: for many of us it means the end of the semester is near. The
upcoming days bachelor and master students will spend hours running from coffee
machine to printer to studio table. At the same time, many of the Faculty’s tutors will
give last minute advice and will have to wait in suspense for the final results. Whoever
you are, at the end of a period it is time to reflect on what you have done. What have
you learned and what do you want to improve the upcoming semester? In other words:
what are your own new semester’s plans?
This issue of Bnieuws is dedicated to the act of setting resolutions for new periods of
time. Why not take some ideas from previous future plans? Peter Koorstra and Geert
Coumans tell us all about their reconstruction of the 1955 model for the future of
Rotterdam. And if that does not get you started, check out the ‘Future Dreams’ that
were made by other architects and creative forces on page 24.
The Chair of Methods & Analysis hosts this semester’s visiting professors of Atelier
Bow-Wow. Together they organized a building workshop for their MSc1 students,
which resulted in a number of installations throughout the faculty. What have they
learned from those temporal constructions, what would they do differently next time?
While these installations were a new thing, other things have been around for longer at
this Faculty. Peter de Jong and Alexandra den Heijer host ‘Ontwerpen 5’, the fifth
design project of the bachelor’s programme. This design course has been around since
the Faculty’s bachelor renewal of 2013, but has a much longer history. Next to that we
have a review on the exhibition ‘#buildingaday’ - a series of photographs shot every
day. Hopefully it will provide you with some inspiration for creative projects of your
own in 2016.
Wake Up and Smell the Roses
Future Dreams
As for us, the editorial board, we look forward to an exciting new year in which we will
celebrate our fiftieth birthday! Next to that, we hope to welcome a new member to our
board soon. Check the back of this issue for details on the vacancy. This might be the
future plan you have been waiting for.
Cheers!
03
#Bnieuwd
Scholarship / THE BERLAGE
Each year The Berlage awards a scholarship to
an excellent Dutch graduate from one of the
architecture or urbanism programmes at the
universities or academies of architecture in The
Netherlands. The scholarship waives the full
tuition fee. Do not miss out on this amazing
opportunity and apply online!
#Bnieuwd
Book / GETTING THINGS DONE
If you are that one architecture student
with the resolution to never pull through
another night in 2016, then this is the book
for you. ‘Getting things done’ goes
beyond the usual to do list, making it
possible to have time for fun (and sleep).
Event / VALUE OF DESIGN
This symposium highlights several
projects which have to deal with
extreme forces, focussing on the
necessary collaboration of architecture
and engineering to create high quality
projects. Ticket sale starts in February.
David Allen / gettingthingsdone.com
U Base / valueofdesign.nl / 10.05.16
Congratulations / SMART CITIES
Bnieuws would like to congratulate the three Smart
City Initiatives. SmartGov, Smart Urban Isle, and
Spacery all received between 200.000 and 250.000
funding each. A wonderful start of the New Year!
theberlage.nl/applying
04
Event / PLASTIC ERA
Plastiglomerates are hybrid rocks embedded with
plastic, giving plastic an official status as geological
composition. But what does that mean for the
possibilities of plastic? How can plastic be re-used,
and foster connections within communities and
cities? Just a few of the questions that hopefully will
be answered on this evening of debate on a
sustainable Plastic Era.
Pakhuis de Zwijger / 26.01.16 / 20:00
Boek/ VIJFTIG JAAR SPOORZOEKEN
Emeritus hoogleraar Volkshuisvesting
Hugo Priemus maakt in deze
autobiografie de balans op na vijftig
jaar werkervaring in de gebouwde
omgeving.
Design / DESKTOP
Do you regurarly wear down your skateboards?
Or are you an admirer of smart material re-use?
Then check out this Rotterdam initiative by
Focused. The colourful seven-ply maple wood
of old skate board decks is used to create
fabulous (coffee) tables. Proof of that even the
smallest of things can become clever design.
Event / GOODBYE-HELLO
On this alumni event again name plaques of
recent graduates will be placed in the wall
next to the Berlage Rooms. The event will allow
these fresh graduates to properly say
goodbye to the Faculty, while at the same
time kicking off the new chapter in their lives.
Download het boek op repository.tudelft.nl
Focused / focused.nu
Berlage Rooms / 29.01.16 / 16:30
Form and Modelling Studies
RECONSTRUCTING THE FUTURE OF ROTTERDAM
Words Emily Frances Parry
In 1955 over 3 million people visited Rotterdam to catch a glimpse of the E-55:
a massive event that embodied the enthusiasm for the new, energetic future
of post-war Rotterdam. Part of this manifestation was a gigantic 225 square
meter model, flaunting the Alexanderpolder’s prospective – but eventually never
realized - masterplan. Now, some sixty years later, this model has come back from
the future as Museum Rotterdam and the gentlemen of Form and Modelling
studies joined forces to revive this unbuilt city. Bnieuws caught up with Peter
Koorstra and Geert Coumans for more details on this remarkable project.
06
Restoring a truly gigantic vintage model of an unbuilt city, tell us more…
Last summer we were contacted by Museum Rotterdam who had come across boxes
and boxes full of architectural models, painted in delicate white, grey and pastel
colours. The buildings had been part of a huge model that visualized the future plans
for the Alexanderpolder as presented to the public in 1955 during the E-55
Manifestation. Museum Rotterdam asked us whether we were interested in helping
them reconstruct a massive part of the model (81 square meters) for their opening
exhibition in February and as this is such a unique project we took on the challenge.
You mentioned the original model was shown during the E-55, what was that?
In the early summer of 1955, Rotterdam was host to an event named the National
Energy Manifestation, E-55 in short. This was a massive exposition where different
sectors showed the world their top-notch technologies and future plans. Companies
and government displayed their newest inventions, ideas and products, shedding light
on what was in store for the coming generations. The event had become symbolic for
Rotterdam’s progress and was used to show both the national and international
community that Rotterdam was recovering from the war, that it had the future on its
side, and was going that extra mile to regain their grandeur. The manifestation
encompassed all kinds of new innovations, ranging from experimental television sets,
prototypes of space shuttles to new mining technologies and of course this massive
model of the future city.
Top right: Prins Bernhard and former Major of Amsterdam A.J. d¹Ailly testing new technologies at the E-55 (National Archives).
Bottom right: Karel Appel working on his brightly coloured mural, depicting man’s zest for life, on the 100 m entrance wall (National Archives).
Reconstructing a 81 square meter model sounds
almost mind-boggling, where did you start?
We had to start all the way from scratch as the
authentic base plates of the model were missing, and
the drawings of the master plan were not available
either. Our first step was actually to really research
the project, dig into it, find out what the model
should have actually looked like whilst all we had to
go on were the model buildings, old photos, and
some written descriptions of this massive plan.
We studied everything we had and started mapping
everything we saw. It came to our attention that the
base plates of the original model were beautifully
detailed; it had a really interesting structure and
consisted of multiple depths and layers. We took this
into account during the reconstruction and have
actually had to laser cut almost 10.000 different
elements to be able to resemble the original.
10.000?!
Almost yes! It should be noted that given the size of
the model hall and the size of the master plan it was
not even possible to lay out the whole model at once
in the Faculty, as it just simply would not fit.
Therefor we have had to divide the making process
into multiple parts just for the sake of space. You can
imagine how precise and organised our working
process had to be, because if we would by accident
misplace some parts or get confused with what’s
what we probably would have had to start all over
again. The first time the model will be seen as a
whole will be in the exposition hall of Museum
Rotterdam.
The reconstructed model, as made by Form and Modelling Studies (Peter Koorstra)
09
Does the current Alexanderpolder look anything like
the plan that the model
visualizes?
Yes and no, the plan underwent multiple changes
and was eventually never realized in this form.
However the grid that was used in this plan, is still
visible in today’s Alexanderpolder. Therefor we have
really tried to accentuate the lines in this model, to
create a bond with today’s situation.
Is this the first time the model has seen daylight after
the E-55 Manifestation?
No, the museum Boijmans Van Beuningen also
displayed the model in the 1980s. Looking at the
photos of the exposition however, it can be seen that
the original base plates had already been lost by then
as the subtle original buildings models were set upon
boards so shiny it almost resembled water [laughs].
What will happen to the model after the exposition
in Museum Rotterdam?
The model is property of the museum so what will
happen to it next is up to them. I can imagine the
model to move around the world as a model of this
size is quite rare. It will however be a challenge to
find an interesting space of about eleven by eleven
meters. In any case there seems to be a willingness to
put effort in the model. We hope it will travel
because looking at the model in all its glory will
definitely bring back the spirit of the fifties, which is
great by all means ha!
The model will be on display during the exposition ‘De
Nieuwe Stad’ in Museum Rotterdam / 06.02.16 18.05.16
Photo of the original 1955 model (Museum Rotterdam)
11
Managementgame
GAME. SET. MATCH?
Words Kseniya Otmakhova
Al sinds management een wetenschapsgebied is op de faculteit - dit
jaar 25 jaar geleden - is de managementgame onderdeel van het
Bouwkundecurriculum: de eerste 15 jaar van de master en daarna ook in de
bachelor. In februari gaat de voorjaarsronde van dit vak van start. Wat maakt
deze module zo uniek en belangrijk? En wat kunnen de studenten van het vak
komend semester verwachten? Bnieuws ging in gesprek met coördinatoren Peter
de Jong en Alexandra den Heijer van de afdeling Management
in the Built Environment.
12
Tien rollen, tien tegenstrijdige belangen en acht weken om tot een gezamenlijke
strategie voor de herontwikkeling van de TU Delft Campus te komen.
De managementgame is voor de bachelorstudent een duik in de realiteit, waarbij door
de opgave te bekijken vanuit het ruimtelijke perspectief (stedenbouwkunde,
landschapsarchitectuur, milieu), het gemeentelijke perspectief (economische zaken,
stadsontwikkeling, ruimtelijke- en vervoersplanologie), het vastgoedperspectief
(eigenaar, gebruiker en ontwikkelaar), en de veelheid aan informatie die daar bij komt
kijken, er sowieso meer vragen komen dan er antwoorden gegeven kunnen worden.
Uiteindelijk dragen alle rollen bij aan het ontwerp van de strategie.
Het doel van het vak is het creëren van bewustzijn bij de student over de breedte van
het speelveld in de bouwwereld, hen groepsdynamica en het ontwerpen met
onzekerheden laten ervaren. Dit zijn allemaal elementen die ook in de beroepspraktijk
terugkomen en hetgeen dat de module een essentieel onderdeel van het bachelor
onderwijs maakt. De afweging tussen kosten en kwaliteit die aan de basis van elk
opgave ligt genereert een spanningsveld tussen de actoren. “Door de factor geld in de
opgave te introduceren willen wij dat de studenten leren dat het bij geld niet altijd om
bezuinigen gaat. Geld kan ook de oplossingsruimte juist kan vergroten wanneer de
student de juiste actoren op een juiste manier weet te bespelen,” vertelt Den Heijer.
De ontmoeting tussen de actoren en het omgaan met het onbekende zijn in de game
net zo reëel als in de werkelijkheid. Wat in de praktijk wel veel harder terugkomt, is de
“HET IS BELANGRIJK OM TE LEREN HOE ANDERE ACTOREN
REDENEREN OM TE WETEN HOE JE DAAROP KAN ANTICIPEREN”
Vogelvlucht uit de eindpresentatie van 2015-2016 Q1 groep 3: Lotte Born, Lex da Costa Gomez, Anna Gunnink, Aarnout Jansen, Goytom
Negassi, Jelmer Koedood, Leonie Kostman, Ruby Kroon en Trang Phan.
verantwoording naar de achterban. Peter de Jong
legt uit: “In de praktijk moet je keer op keer
terugkoppelen wat en waarom je iets doet en word je
veel sneller afgerekend op tekortkomingen. Hier mag
je nog steeds fouten maken. Wij beoordelen niet
alleen het eindresultaat maar ook hoe je daar komt.”
Den Heijer vult aan: “Aan het einde van het
rollenspel willen wij dat de studenten de spelregels
ontdekt hebben en weten wat zij volgende keer beter
zouden kunnen doen. Als zij weten wat er speelt,
hoe een bouwkundig ingenieur in het krachtenveld
van gebiedsontwikkeling staat en wat voor
verschillende rollen die daarin aan kan nemen, zijn
wij tevreden.”
“Nog een belangrijk aspect waarop ons project van
de praktijk afwijkt, is dat er een momentum is.
Gedurende acht weken focussen teamleden zich
allemaal op de opgave. Sommige studenten doen er
nog iets naast, in de praktijk doet iedereen er van
alles naast. Daardoor duurt het soms maanden om
alleen al de nodige mensen bij elkaar aan tafel
krijgen. De praktijk is wat dat betreft jaloers op deze
luxe van een pressure cooker,’’ vertelt Den Heijer.
Het concept van een rollenspel als onderwijsmiddel
bestaat al sinds 1991 binnen de faculteit, toen de
huidige Mastertrack Management in the Built
Environment [voorheen Real Estate & Housing]
werd opgericht. Het is ontstaan vanuit het besef dat
een rollenspel een ideaal didactisch model kan zijn
om het gebiedsontwikkelingsvak te leren, waar het
veelal over processen, management, verschillende
actoren en tegengestelde belangen gaat. Den Heijer:
“Je hoeft de studenten niet te vertellen wat ze
moeten doen. Dit vertellen zij elkaar zelf.”
Het praktijkgerichte rollenspel nam snel toe in
populariteit binnen de faculteit. “Omdat de
studenten het vak erg waardeerden heeft de faculteit
het in de bachelor opgeblazen tot een volwaardig
ontwerpmodule,” vertelt Den Heijer. “Nu is er ook
de tijd om de nodige diepgang te bereiken. Als er
weinig tijd is merk je dat de studenten het te snel op
een akkoordje gooien, omdat er uiteindelijk wel een
eindproduct moet zijn”.
13
De ontwikkeling van de game door de jaren heen
ging gepaard met grote veranderingen in de
maatschappij. “Er heeft een machtsverschuiving van
publiek naar privaat plaatsgevonden. Ook de
maatschappelijke vraag naar verantwoording en
meer transparantie is de laatste jaren enorm
gegroeid. Transparantie komt niet vanzelf, wat
betekent dat alle spelers moeten nadenken over de
verwachtingen die de andere actoren en de
maatschappij van hen hebben,” aldus De Jong.
Het betekent dat alle partijen eerder en actiever
moeten samenwerken, en dat is precies waar de
managementgame op doelt.
14
Karakteristiek voor de herontwikkeling van gebieden
is dat de maatschappij er eigenlijk geen ‘goed’
antwoord op heeft. Elk jaar wordt een andere locatie
als opgave gekozen. Rotterdam heeft nu twee keer
kunnen profiteren van deze rijkdom aan ideeën.
Voorgaande edities speelden zich af op Blaak en
Pombenburg. De tijd was echter rijp om deze
energie ook een keer in te zetten voor een
vernieuwende aanpak van de campus, en zo als
universiteit daar de vruchten van te plukken.
De stap naar de TU Delft als locatie brengt een hele
andere schaal met zich mee. Met 150 ha gebied zijn
de mogelijkheden beperkt om gedetailleerde
uitspraken te doen over gebouwen, de benodigde
ingrepen en de uitvoering daarvan. “Eerst dachten
wij dat de locatie misschien te groot zou zijn voor
deze opgave, maar tijdens het najaarssemester
hebben wij ervaren dat dit juist meer lessen met zich
meebrengt. De student wordt gedwongen om
strategischer en grootschaliger te denken. Niet alles
kan tot in het detail worden uitgewerkt en dat is ook
niet onze bedoeling,” vertelt Den Heijer.
plangebied is het veel verleidelijker om de voordelen
bij elkaar te schrapen en de problemen naar de
buren te verschuiven.”
Twee belangrijke aspecten blijven na de evaluatie
met studenten onveranderd: de locatie wordt niet
kleiner en de combinatierol TU Delft als ‘eigenaargebruiker’, die dit jaar nieuw was, wordt niet
opgesplitst. “Dit kunnen de studenten aan,” zegt De
Jong. Den Heijer stemt in: “Wij zijn na 25 jaar nog
steeds blij verrast hoe dicht de studenten bij de
realiteit komen in hun aanbevelingen. Dat zij in acht
weken adviezen kunnen geven waarvan de experts
uit de praktijk onder de indruk van kunnen zijn.”
“De resultaten van het afgelopen semester waren
prachtig, maar wat mij blij zou maken, is als de
studenten in voorjaar net een stapje strategischer
zouden kunnen denken,” voegt De Jong toe.
De nieuwe groep studenten kan staan op de
schouders van de vorige generatie. Voorgaande
projecten worden ter inzage op Blackboard gezet om
de nieuwe studenten uit te dagen om gebruik te
maken van deze kennis en met nog betere strategieën
voor de TU-wijk te komen.
Den Heijer belooft voor aankomend semester: “De
studenten krijgen een kijkje in de keuken van hun
eigen campus. Wie er allemaal over beslist en hoe
ingewikkeld dat is. Daarnaast krijgen zij de
gelegenheid daar invloed op uit te oefenen met eigen
ideeën. De beste groepen mogen hun project
presenteren aan de vastgoeddirecteur van de TU
Delft en andere betrokkenen.”
Volg het vak op:
facebook.com/groups/961239080615636
De afbeelding op de cover van deze Bnieuws is een
De student leert dat het niet meer gaat over het
kiezen tussen een goede en een slechte oplossing is,
maar tussen oplossingen met verschillende voor- en
nadelen. De Jong: “Dit leert je dat kwaliteit ook
ergens gebrek aan kwaliteit betekent. In een klein
impressie uit eindpresentatie ‘De blauwe loper’ van
2015-2016 Q1 groep 9: Niels Franssen, Ammelien van
Hootegem, Jarno van Iwaarden, Roos van Roessel,
Ankita Singhvi, Malou Visser, Sophia Vrisekoop, Laurens
van der Wal en Luc van Wanroij.
15
#buildingaday
WAKE UP AND SMELL THE ROSES
Words Phoebus Panigyrakis
Images Thomas Aquilina
One of the best ways of learning architecture is through traveling. And although
we, students, may find lots of encouragement to travel (by our peers, professors,
and professional architects) no one really tells us how we should make use of
our travels, and gain knowledge from the built environment that surrounds us.
Thomas Aquilina’s exhibition of 365 photos titled #buildingaday at TU Delft’s
Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, took us a long way in this
discussion: providing both the material and the rules that apply to this process
of architectural exploration. Although the exibition is no longer visible, we can still
learn our lessons from this photo project.
Archiving a Year
First things first. The main way of dealing with a collection of architectural encounters
is through the creation of an archive. Having a homogenous format and medium will
allow the narrative to eventually unfold. Thomas’ photos were all in the classic
polaroid-square format. On display in the central room of the Delft Faculty, the
exhibition levitated by lines on a glass wall in a swarm-like grouping. The images
engaged the passers-by and the working students with a wide variety of architectural
settings. They also -willingly or not- portrayed the photographer’s change of settings
during this time period. The photos took the observers on a journey to different
continents and different countries: Britain, Sweden, Switzerland, Malta, U.S.A., South
Africa, and many more. In the end, as it frequently occurs in architecture, the
analytical procedure came in parallel with a more personal approach.
Research Turned Into a Diary
Looking closer at the photos certain patterns appeared. It is clear that the main interest
lied with what is familiar to the architect’s eye. And we were often delighted to see an
architectural icon that we could recognize: “There is a Foster and over there a Stirling!”
The photos were framed centrally, either frontal or with the use of perspective, that
allowed the viewer to study formalistic proportions: the light, the symmetry, and the
structure. Different styles, types, scales, and environments, formal or informal, were
placed in contrast. Glass wall offices, universities, libraries and churches, parks, roads,
alleys, bridges, metro stations, train stations, façades, back facades, walls, windows,
doors and doorways. Ships, shopfronts, sculptures, interiors and exteriors, castles, and
radio towers. Reflective, shadowed, luminous, or blurred. It was all about architecture:
iconic, monumental, vernacular, or uncanny.
< Clockwise starting at the top-left: Oxford (UK), Cambridge (UK), London (UK), Valletta (Malta), Cambridge (UK), London (UK).
17
But the familiarity was flipped when the photos appeared to deal with the more abstract.
It showed a clear affiliation of architecture with sculpture, painting, graphic design, and
the art of photography itself. Sometimes the photos were looking down or looking up,
overexposed or underexposed, and occasionally as dark as the night. This is where the
exhibition became less about observation and more about enquiry. What is architecture’s
limit in the end? Is it possible to objectively document it, or are our attempts destined to
become obscure and self-referential? Is playing with it an answer at all?
18
Dealing with architectural curiosity in the digital age surely requires a lot of discipline.
And the exhibition did indeed provide a great lesson of architecture’s capabilities and
contradictions in its domination of the city. But it is the particularity of the exceptions
that gave the exhibition its more artistic orientation. This was evident when Thomas
allowed people to be subjects in the photo frame, intruding with the architectural scenery
that we are instructed to follow. These exceptions came in contrast with the conventional
approach to documenting architecture: displayed mostly as the triumphant or the
picturesque. Instead they pictured a deeper level of sentimentality where the built
environment was simply a background. People turned the pictures romantic, humorous,
and spontaneous while architecture seized to be an object and participated actively in the
event. There is fundamental knowledge to be gained in looking at the whole spectrum of
the exhibition’s photography. During an architectural education, knowledge is the
foremost priority, and in our current digitalized culture, we tend to browse our way
through images of drawings or photos to get to quicker creative solutions and in the
process gather massive amounts of information. The example of Thomas’ exhibition is
particularly interesting in the sense of liberty he took in selecting the material and
therefore the challenge of removing a central theme. Likewise, his risk of being selfreferential while portraying his everyday surrounding was equally aggregated by his time
binding and disciplined effort.
Wake Up and Smell the Roses
Having discussed the exhibition’s rationale, method, and subject, I am personally
becoming more and more curious to see whether these kinds of artistic agonies and
explorations appear in architectural work. Affluence of forms and environments is one
thing that is laid around us and sooner or later someone will be called to answer the
meaning of all these forms. Truth be told, meaning still remains a taboo in architectural
theoretical discourses (we are still more occupied with usage). But here is a generation of
architects that have travelled more than anyone before, with the need to understand what
they are seeing, collect their thoughts, and explain it in view of a productive dialogue.
Attempts such as Thomas’ lead the way of rediscovering what is already there, offering
itself to us, just in case we suddenly awaken in a mood to do more than observe.
The exhibition #buildingaday was organised by ARGUS and featured in Argus monthly
paper #3, November 2015.
Check out the other images on buildingaday.tumblr.com or thomasaquilina@Instagram
Búðir (Iceland)
WHY THE FLO.CO?
By Florian Beukeboom
In today’s materialistic culture of capitalism, speed and convenience demands that we
Speak
WASTE MATERIALS?
Words Veerle Rigter
throw away a lot of material. In Europe, one third of the waste material produced comes
from the construction sector and 94% of these building materials pose no risk to our health.
Although most of these demolition products may no longer be in perfect condition, they
should still be salvaged, sorted and considered for re-use. This is no small task, yet being
able to see the bigger picture, to step back and develop creative solutions for large-scale
problems is a skill that defines us as architects. It is no longer enough to simply consider our
Gradually everybody is becoming more aware of the amount of waste we
humans produce and the way we are dealing with this waste. Funny thing is, in
nature there is no such thing as waste. We humans should alter our perspective
and become aware of the potential of what we nowadays call‘ waste’.
creative energy as a machine to generate profit.
Focus on climate
Though the Dutch waste material processing system is advanced in comparison to much of
Europe, there are still many potentially useful materials being incinerated or sent to landfill.
Burning these waste products not only releases more CO2, but the useful materials which are
lost then need to be remanufactured; already 40% of current European energy use is
attributed to the building and construction industry. Many of these wasteful practices are the
result of governments lacking knowledge in the processes of material re-use. A new climatefocussed solution to develop these re-use practices could dramatically reduce CO2 emissions.
20
Focus on society and technology
Technology is rapidly progressing towards ever more advanced fabrication processes, with 3D
printing moving from a prototyping tool to a construction method: designers are ready! But is
Inspiration can be found by watching a new television programme: Oud en Nieuw
(BNN/NPO3). The programme - with the slogan ‘waste does not exist’ - is a scrapyard
challenge for young (re-)designers. Each week, the contestants receive a new design
assignment and get the chance to treasure hunt for their materials in various
junkyards. For two days the crafts(wo)men struggle with the given assignment, the
materials, each other, and themselves to create the best designs. A strict jury decides
who wins the week’s challenge and who unfortunately has to leave the show. I must say
I have been annoyed by the lack of social relevance of television programmes these
days, but this program really is a prime example of a show that combines low key
television entertainment with both inspiration and a societal message. This message
hopefully contributes to a more conscious mind set of the average person, to make
them rethink their own personal waste and make something out of it.
society ready for this change? Are we happy to lead more automated lives, to distance
ourselves from craft, from working with our hands; engaging with materials? Should we not
collaborate more? Which sounds more fulfilling: standing out in the sun with a hammer in one
“IT IS REALLY EASY AND HEAPS OF FUN TO REPURPOSE WASTE”
hand and a cup of coffee in the other, or sitting behind your desk all day? Flo.Co has the
answer!
Creative sociatal re-use
Through thinking and learning together, building in collaboration with people of different
ages and cultural backgrounds, we can make people aware of wasteful practices in our
society; teach ourselves to see opportunity where once we saw waste. To promote this dream,
I will be building my own moving, transformable studio home as my graduation project from
April to June 2016 at the FabCityCampus on the Java Island in Amsterdam. At the same time,
You can also check out the projects of Superuse Studios, amongst others responsible
for our beloved Espressobar, made of old window frames. It is an architectural office
that aims to make effective use of wasted resources and energy and has become
a pioneer in the field of sustainable design. It is nationally and internationally
renowned for its innovative design approach as well as for providing ‘open source’
methods and tools to the design community. Their ‘oogstkaart’ for instance maps
various waste materials all over the Netherlands, making ‘waste’ visible and available
for everyone interested (www.oogstkaart.nl).
material workshops will be held, educating people in the potential of waste materials –
showing that instead of ash, garbage can become architecture.
Together we build! Let’s Flow-Cycle!
I invite you to join and follow the experiment. Become a Flocal in the Community or
Co-Creator of a sustainable future. Check www.facebook.com/flo3co
If you feel like you want to get more involved, have a look at the Flo.Co; a platform for
knowledge exchange, inspiration, and collaboration for designing and building with
waste. Per January 1st, 2016, the Netherlands will hold the Presidency of the Council of
the EU and an Arts & Design Programme titled ‘Europe by People; the future of
everyday living’ will organise six months of cultural activities throughout the city to
21
HONGER
We brachten Oud & Nieuw door bij het gezin van mijn broer in Bussum, je weet wel,
die plaats waar kouwe kak en Nieuw Geld vreedzaam co-existeren. Bij aankomst reed
ik pardoes de verkeerde oprit op. Oorzaak: ik meende de mini van mijn broer te zien
staan maar het was die van de buren. Bij nadere inspectie bleken veel mensen in
Bussum als tweede auto een mini te hebben. Alsof ze het zo met elkaar hadden
afgesproken.
Sketch of the Flo.Co Bouwplaats, by Florian Beukeboom
22
accompany this presidency. As part of this
programme, a temporary FabCity Campus will be
realised on the Java island in Amsterdam, where the
future of Europe will be explored. Here, Flo.Co
founder and student Florian Beukeboom will build
his graduation project: a movable house completely
made of waste materials. The Flo.Co will set up a
workspace to repurpose waste as well as host
workshops accessible to everyone.
If you are inspired already and you want to start your
own project(s), then get your materials at Buurman
or Scrap in Rotterdam. Buurman, located in the
industrial Merwe Vierhavens, functions as a
hardware shop and creative workshop space all in
one. It collects useful rest materials from
construction firms, festivals, musea and the like,
from wood to electrical wires, you name it. These
various materials are competitively priced and for
sale in the Buurman shop. In the creative workshop
multiple artists design and build their creations from
the waste materials available at Buurman. They
organise events and offer courses to learn how to
design and build your own furniture. Additionally,
do-it-yourself enthusiasts can join in and use the
machines in the workshop for a small fee, with an
expert available to assist [see Bnieuws 06 ‘14 -’15]
At Scrap they also collect waste materials, but in
general of a smaller size than at Buurman. The most
amazing things are gathered in numerous boxes and
shelves around the shop; from empty bottle caps to
buttons to rubber insulation strips and old flagpoles,
available for almost no money at all. Instead of
courses, Scrap hosts workshops for groups and
functions as a supplier of creative materials to
institutes, schools, and creative individuals.
My eyes are becoming more and more trained to see
the potential of our waste and my hands are itching
to get to work. Because I have found that it is
actually really easy and heaps of fun to repurpose
waste, and I hope you will find so too.
Zo lijkt er wel meer afgesproken in Bussum. Bijvoorbeeld dat je héél nonchalant doet
over rijkdom. Iedereen heeft een ingebouwd koffieapparaat maar laat het gebruik
ervan gepaard gaan met een besmuikt lachje, zo van: ‘belachelijk hè, zo’n apparaat.’
Op dezelfde manier wordt relativerend gezegd hoe onhandig zo’n SUV is bij het
inparkeren, maar wordt gezwegen over hoe duur hij is en hoe ongelooflijk fijn om
zoveel geld te hebben dat je er gewoon een kan kopen. En een mini erbij.
Volgens mijn broer is het kenmerkend voor Bussum dat er zoveel verschillende mensen
wonen: ‘bankiers, advocaten, dokters maar ook leraren.’ Ja, ammehoela, bankiers en
advocaten zijn verschillend zoals een boomkikker en een brulkikker verschillend zijn.
En leraren in Bussum? Alleen als ze in een huis wonen dat al generaties in handen van
de familie is, want er zijn op dit moment geen twee stenen in Bussum te vinden die een
leraar Aardrijkskunde zich kan veroorloven.
In ‘A Moveable Feast’ schrijft Hemingway dat honger de zintuigen scherpt. In het
kleurgebruik van Miro, zegt Hemingway, kun je zien dat de kunstenaar échte honger
heeft gekend. Een interessante stelling, die omgekeerd misschien ook waar is. Te
midden van overdaad kan geen goede smaak ontstaan. Daar heb je schaarste voor
nodig. Schaarste, noodzaak en overtuiging. In Bussum, met zijn ingemetselde
koffiezetapparaten, oversized landhuizen en blinkende wagenparken zijn die niet te
vinden.
Pierijn van der Putt / Docent Architectuur
23
Inspiration
FUTURE DREAMS
Words Lotte Dijkstra
To plan the future you need more than facts on the now. You need a little bit
of imagination, too. What could the future look like? What will change in the
world in ten, twenty, fifty, a hundred years? Where will you be? And how will you
deal with the changes to come? Our profession of architecture and the built
environment pushes us to think about these questions every day. We have to
deal with the future every time we start a new design.These six projects show all
kinds of possible outcomes to such future dreams.
The New Adam, 1926, by Bortnyik Sándor
La Bibliothèque du Roi, 1785, by Étienne-Louis Boullée
City of the Future, 1939, by General Motors
Pirgos Peiraia, 2012, by Martin Grabner. For more ideas, check futurearchitectureplatform.org
Back To the Future II, 1985, by Universal Pictures
Smart City 2050, 2015, by Vincent Callebaut
Artifact
VINYL DOES IT BETTER
By Olindo Caso
I started buying LPs in the mid-1970s. My Hi-Fi Pioneer equipment dates from that
time too. I never dismissed my collection of vinyl records and I regularly play
them on my old turntable. Now I hear that vinyl is back: a hot, most wanted item.
OMG, am I vintage?
Apparently, the comeback of vinyl records has to do with the DISAPPOINTING
quality of MP3 compression. I suspect there is more at it as a fashionable trend: the
times of the cracking, noisy LPs became VINTAGE just the same way memorabilia
from the 50s were a couple of decades ago. For good the vinyl brings associations with
the birth of pop music and ROCK’N’ROLL heroes, and with an idealised time of
rebellion, freedom and happiness. It is a SENTIMENTAL journey for many.
Others just appreciate the WARM sound of the vinyl record above the cold perfection
of good CD reproductions. This last would lead the music EXPERIENCE too far from
its ‘blood, sweat and tears’ nature that you are supposed to SENSE in a recording.
I love the IMPERFECTIONS of the vinyl: the somehow cracking and hissing sound
gives me a feeling of sharing – even with classical music.
But I especially praise the TACTILE engagement that goes together with the act of
playing an LP on a turntable, that ritual of delicately SLIDING the record out of its
sleeve only TOUCHING its edges... Gently brushing dust away before the needle lands
on the black surface… and ONLY then to rise the volume while you always SEE what’s
going on. Listening to a record then becomes an act of LOVE, requiring time and
attention – without forgetting the COVER-ART.
This PHYSICAL relationship with the vinyl record, my active participation and choices
are very far from the ‘skip’ THOUGHTLESSNESS of digital devices. Vinyl involves an
act of MAKING and of identification.
No two vinyl records are the same: the mine carries its own SCARS.
Ellen Sakkers has a great added value for many BK students in trouble. I would like to read
about her inspirations.
< Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles, 1967, vinyl in 32,2 x 32,2 cm cover
29
MSc Methods & Analysis: Ways of Doing
CONSTRUCTING THE COMMONS
Words Lotte Dijkstra
Images Óscar Andrade
Seven constructions suddenly appeared in and around our Faculty in the
week before the Christmas holidays. Made by thirty MSc1 students, under the
guidance of visiting professor Momoyo Kaijima of Atelier Bow-Wow and visiting
scholar Óscar Andrade of the University of Valpareiso in Chile, in just two days.
But what is the story behind these installations? Why did they suddenly appear
and disappear? Bnieuws took a closer look at the case and spoke to tutor Hans
Teerds about the assignment.
30
What was the initial assignment for the installations
with the theme ‘Constructing the Commons’?
To intervine in BK City with a small installation that
would change the use and experience of our everyday
environment, specifically by offering opportunities to
bump into someone else. We have been working with
the ‘commons’ theme for weeks now. It is the central
theme of the visiting professorship of Atelier BowWow. We have been thinking about those commons
since September, trying to find a definition, and
deepen our understanding.
And what have you found so far?
Together with the students we are trying to get a better
grip on the concept of ‘commons’. We are looking for
physical places where you encounter things and
‘others’ and share experiences. These places are
within the public domain, but do not necessarily have
the large scale and political meaning of the public
domain itself. We are instead looking for everyday
places that transcend individual space. This is
something specifically stressed by Atelier Bow-Wow:
finding places which invoke a shared use of resources
and/or commonalities, offering a common experience.
That means the commons are everyday places,
although uploaded with a shared significance for each
user or group. That is the theoretical background the
students used, in combination with a personal
research theme, such as atmosphere, infrastructure,
or social practices. The assignment for the installations
started on Monday, December 14th, and included
picking a spot within the faculty where the students
could make a 1:1 intervention. Each group received
ten large and seven smaller wooden planks. With
white paint the planks were crafted into a
recognizable family. This would make each
installation connected, despite their locations being
different. That is another aspect of the commons
important to our understanding: they never exist on
just one location, but together create a network of
commons. The materialization also plays a role in this.
After the editing of the materials the students just had
to start building: designing while constructing. The
assignment to create an intervention within the
existing space of BK City that would invoke some kind
of interaction has been executed in different ways.
Two extremes are the installations in the East and
West stairwell. The east stairwell at the one hand
housed a temporal model crane, connecting the
unused space on the second floor next to the stairwell
with the space at the ground floor. Since two students
had to operate the crane together to safely lift the
models, the desired interaction was created. The west
stairwell on the other hand housed a small installation
where you could sit together.Where the model crane
primarily connects places and people, this installation
articulates the place and invokes a search for
tranquillity.
The installations existed for a mere three days. Was
that the original intent of the assignment?
No, we would have loved to keep them in existence
for a longer period of time. It is hard to make projects
like these happen in general. The installations at the
east entrance functioned really well, especially on
Bouwpub night, so it was a shame to have to
deconstruct them so soon. The installations became
bigger than expected, that is why they had to be
broken down. With the expected crowd of people for
the Christmas drinks in the Orange Hall it was
decided it would be better to remove the installations.
‘Constructing the Commons’ was not the only
workshop this semester. What else did you do?
We started with a brief investigation on historical
examples of commons in Amsterdam, as preparation
of a two days - workshop on location in the North of
Amsterdam. There we worked on scanning the area in
a quick, but specific way and translating the
information into drawings. The second workshop was
a ‘collective drawing’ workshop, a typical instrument
for Atelier Bow-Wow. They usually take two weeks for
such projects, we had several students working on
large drawings in a similar fashion for just two days.
But it turned out quite well.
What is the value of such workshops?
Atelier Bow-Wow visited us a couple of times and
always for just a few days. In order to really profit
from their knowledge and insights, this was the right
model to involve them in our teachings. Workshops
offer the achievement of an intense involvement of
both students and tutors in a short time frame.
Working as a group with such an intensive work
programme is also a kind of ‘common’. The students
were visibly enjoying their work in all of these
workshops, but especially this last one. Working with
their hands and the materials, finding out what was
necessary to keep the constructions up, reacting to
what they actually saw and touched... I think we
should organize such 1:1 programmes more often.
You learn so many things from actually making a
construction, seeing it rise and maybe also fall down
again. We tend to keep working in the domain of
drawings and models, but when the projects get
bigger, we have difficulty to follow through.
What will Atelier Bow-Wow further contribute to the
educational programme?
They worked with us on the workshops, gave
introduction lectures, research the commons
themselves, and will be part of our public final
conference and exhibition in the Orange Hall at the
3rd and 4th of March. There we will share our findings
and also hear from some guest lecturers, including
George Baird [University of Toronto, Canada],
Margaret Crawford [University of Berkeley, USA], and
Richard Sennett [London School of Economics, UK].
Would you like to prolong the cooperation for the next
time this course is given, or do you have any other
guest lecturers in mind?
[laughs] I know their visiting professorship is just for
half a year, but yes, I would like to prolong the
cooperation. However, I know that is not possible,
since they will be visiting professors at Harvard
University in the next half year. Still, Atelier Bow-Wow
has so much knowledge and such a specific way of
looking and working, it would be interesting to turn
that into an integral part of our education. Then we
would also be able to make their knowledge accessible
to more students. In general it would be my wish for
the Faculty to make these kinds of sensitive
approaches to architecture, from other architectural
firms too, accessible for all students, and to make
these approaches even broader.
31
01
02
32
And what would be your wish for the course itself?
That the workshops and our teachings have helped
the students to look differently, and doing so were
stimulated to be the best they can be. That they would
not be content with their findings too soon.
Architecture is way to important for that. But
moreover, I hope the lessons we have learned from
the commons, the understanding we have gained,
could become accessible to an even bigger audience...
But the conference and exhibition are a good start.
To better understand the installations, we asked the
students and tutors to explain the ideas behind them:
01: Anarchy or Material Gestures, East Entrance
Rogier Franssen: “The pavilion anticipates to the
formal and social character of the square between the
East entrance and the Bouwpub. It translates the
morphological terrain into a defined place for people
to come together, elaborating upon existing qualities
of the space. Unfortunately the pavilion had to be
removed soon after its completion, creating the sense
that the Faculty does not trust the technical abilities of
its own students. How is building something at a
faculty of Architecture a form of anarchy?”
Students: Tiemen Anema, Mathijs Boersma, Francesco
03
04
02: Bench Ribbon, East Entrance
Hans Teerds: “Benches that also become tables, then
again become benches. This installation can be seen
as a motivator for the development of benches around
the Faculty, to create space for outside activities.”
Students: Thomas Aquilina, Eli Dorsman, Luiza Guerino,
and Xiaoyi Qin.
03: Model Crane, East Stairwell
Yamal Daems: “Our intervention is a fork lift that lift
up models from the ground level to the studios
upstairs. We noticed, and can prove, that walking
upstairs with (large) models is not that simple. People
clash with other people, but also with the railings.
We saw an opportunity to create a model crane in the
‘left-over space’ behind the red stairway in the east
wing, since we cannot use the elevator as our helping
hand.
I heard people really liked the specific place and the
idea behind our crane, but regret that we failed in the
implementation. But come on, we are not real
engineers. This workshop really taught me that finding
a common in a sort of society is not that easy.
But I am glad we found such a nice missing link in the
building. Without the lense of this workshop, I think
we could not have linked those two ‘beautiful left-over
places’.”
Bozzerla, Rogier Franssen, Francesca Martellono, Josef
Students: Yamal Daems, Jaap Le, Luis Verjan, and Zerrin
Odvarka, and Konstantinos Papasimakis.
Yuksel.
05
06
04: Mug For a Day, Main Entrance
Nima Morkoç: “Enter the Faculty. Get a mug. At the
end of the day: clean it, and hang it back.
The experiment was too short to truly test the
responsibility, rituals, and habits of the students.
The ritual is taking and leaving your mug every day
and a good number of people started to customize
this habit by writing texts on the mug such as: “I am
looking for some BK-booty” or “1 Day to Deadline”.
Not everyone brought back their cups (in a clean
manner), but that is something we understand.
It’s quite a long way back from the attic.”
07
06: Waste Material Installation, Model Hall
Jip Pijs: “We built an object in the model hall to make
people aware of the materials they usually throw
away. The ‘table’ with a red hammer at the end
resembles a coffin. The slight angle creates multiple
working heights as well as a direct view on the table
when walking by towards the Faculty’s cafeteria. A big
border around the top of the table monumentalises
the leftovers. The red hammer invites people to nail
their scrap materials onto the table - a nice stress
release.”
Students: Marieke Giele, Jip Pijs, and Kevin Westerveld.
Students: Fabian van Doeselaar, Jelle Hettema, Nima
Morkoç, Jeroen Ubels.
05: ‘House’, Model Hall
Jue Zhang: “The idea of our installation comes from
the ‘primitive hut’ of Laugier. With that inspiration we
came back to the original form of a common space
and we placed it in the forgotten area in front of the
modelling hall. The reactions on the commons are
more than we expected. The pavilion was occupied
for various kinds of behaviour, such as chatting,
eating, discussing. Together the prototype, the
wooden framework, and the translucent plastic cover
provided people a recognizable common.”
07: Space of Silence, West Stairwell
Hans Teerds: “The installation reacts to the stairwell,
which is a ‘common’ itself. The construction
articulates the movement of the stairs, while also
creating a place within this movement. The seclusion
of the individual thus also becomes significant.”
Students: Andree van Asseldonk, Elsa Sjögren, and
Noortje Weenink.
MSc1 Methods & Analysis is taught by Yoshiharu
Tsukamoto, Momoyo Kaijima (Atelier Bow-Wow), Tom
Avermaete, Óscar Andrade, Hans Teerds, Dominique
Pieters, Gus Tielens, Lilith van Assem, Elsbeth Ronner, and
Students: Daniel Bremmer, Lennart Brouwer, Xiaoning
Lieke van Hooijdonk.
Song, and Jue Zhang.
Watch the online video clip of the construction process
by Oculus Film: facebook.com/Architecture.TUDelft
33
Speak
COFFEE FOR THE MIND
Words Kseniya Otmakhova
Students at this Faculty are enduring a lot of pressure throughout their studies.
Pressure caused by a lot of different things.
34
Time is probably the most dominant factor in architectural design, education,
and practice. Our professional community lives by making or failing the deadlines and
racing against the clock on a daily basis.
Competition is another important pressure factor that is common for all creative
industries and is well represented at our faculty too. Competition is a management and
selection tool in the world of architecture. Participation in competitions takes up most
of the working time in a firm. Within our faculty there are not a lot of organized
competitions, but there are a lot of competitive elements involved in our education.
Grading is the most obvious one, but choosing the 10, 5 or 3 best students per studio
and awarding them is also pretty competitive. Of course this bait does make us try
harder, but not without a certain amount of stress. While time and competition are
external pressure factors there are also feelings of uncertainty and
inevitability that could be classified as internal pressure factors that we impose on
ourselves.
Novice designers get very anxious when facing uncertainty during their design
processes. Getting preoccupied by the problem the designer drives himself in a mental
block, that again causes a lot of stress. Matthew Frederick explains in his book
‘101 Things I Learned in Architecture School’ that a successful designer eventually
manages to accept that feeling of lostness as normal. The feeling of uncertainty is often
magnified by the feeling of inevitability. Even though we have long passed the times
when architects were ‘chosen by God’, and the Faculty stresses cooperation between
all departments, the ghosts of that time can still be heard. Two quotes by teachers
cleary illustrate my point:
Architecture is not a profession, it is a calling. You cannot have another passion next to it
if you want to succeed!
- Tutor from BSc ON4
Eventually you will choose between architecture and real estate, and then you will
discover there is no way to go back and catch up anymore.
- Teacher from Management and the Built Environment
As mentioned earlier the pressure designers endure is not bad per definition, often it is
the secret behind progress and innovation. However too much of it can cause tunnel
vision on the long run. So what is the big picture behind everything that happens in our
Faculty? Research and design skills are the main qualities one acquires when becoming
a creative, certificated professional. The verb to create comes from the Latin ‘creare’
which means to make form out of nothing. Creation is a universal process and of all
creatures on Earth, humans were the only ones gifted with creativity. While facing the
challenges of the daily life try to keep this big picture in mind and know, that studying
at this Faculty does not merely make you an architect, urbanist, manager, etc. – it
makes you a better creator.
How do you experience pressure at this Faculty? Contact the editorial board for
publication possibilities: bnieuws-bk@tudelft.nl
35
NEXT EDITION 06
Some things slip trough wihout noticing, let alone being
properly discussed. Let’s talk about those next month!
Ben jij nieuwsgierig naar je medestudenten en hun projecten? Vind je het leuk
om te schrijven? En ben je geïnteresseerd in alles wat er op de faculteit speelt?
Heb jij een passie voor vormgeving? Dit in combinatie met een baan naast je
studie? Dan is dit de baan voor jou!
Bnieuws is op zoek naar een tweedejaars bachelorstudent die zich wil ontwikkelen
als redacteur naast zijn studie. Je krijgt de kans om naast je schrijfvaardigheden
ook je grafische en organisatorische vaardigheden te ontwikkelen en de faculteit
van binnen en buiten te leren kennen. Om te beginnen heb je een basiskennis
vormgeven en schrijven nodig en vooral de ambitie te willen groeien.
Stuur je CV, pasfoto en een tekst van 500 woorden naar Bnieuws. Schrijf in
het Nederlands of Engels hoe jij denkt over het ‘belang van tekenen’. Stuur je
sollicitatie op vóór vrijdag 29 januari.
Bnieuws
VOLUME 49 EDITION 05