This design seeks to expand Poortugal, a municipality near Rotterdam, with 1001 houses and give architectural form to ten villas. My urban design strategy is to bring identity and variety to the living environment, giving primacy to the human scale. I opted for a large measure of architectural and urban freedom, as opposed to the customary 'plan-masse' of obligatory building lines and cornice heights not to mention stylistic guidelines. After establishing the basic urban unit - a plot accommodating twenty or so houses - I laid down certain rules to which architects and property developers are to abide. These rules fix the density at 70 dwellings per hectare, with a uniform identity for each district. They also give each designer the freedom to fill in their plot as they choose.

On my own chosen plot, I elaborated a building containing ten large apartments stacked on a business unit with underground parking. The design takes its cue from the intrinsic values of the traditional pre-war dwelling with tall living spaces, specially developed details and roomy entryways. Building regulations as a manifesto for minimal state architecture were pushed aside. On the architectural front, my aim was to evoke the status of a large villa, with no clear idea of the number of dwellings involved.

Place of education: TU Delft
Specialization: architectuur
Tutors: Herman Hertzberger, Franziska Bollerey & Meindert Scheers