The basis of the scheme: Westerdokeiland in Amsterdam, a fascinating area with a peripheral character. The desolation combined with its position a stone's throw from Central Station tends to have a disorientating effect. This area should really stay this way for ever. The present scheme proceeds from the knowledge that this location will unquestionably be redeveloped. My aim is to add a contemporary layer to the island that would justify its place in the city.

The urban design gives expression to the site's schizophrenic qualities, the polarity of peri-urban expanse and small-scale city centre laying the foundations for a dynamic equipoise.

A network of artists' territories on the IJ inlet with a spine of three major cultural functions spreads a layer of art and culture across the area. One of the new elements, a building block in the waters of the IJ, has a pivotal role to play here. All discoveries and inspirations converge at this building, as an intensified version of the island. Art and amusement, the two use forms in the building, need each other's presence. This convergence of functions is the key to realizing the desired scenarios. The amusement functions in the building are intended to rouse the attention and heighten the perception by suspending the familiar, the certain, the expected. Art is the response - a reflection on amusement, people, everyday life. Art as permanent feedback. A major factor when setting up the game between the two use forms was the difference in spatiality between the opposites of city and periphery. The overall picture is shaped by a container, a carcass born of the area's horizontal, peripheral nature. A mass establishes itself within the contours of this carcass, a parasite issuing from the city. The local schizophrenic influences acting upon the building resonate throughout its mass. Both forces are stepped up in each other's direction, resulting in an ineluctable reversal: the building turns itself inside-out.

Place of education: TU Eindhoven
Specialization: architectuur/architecture
Tutors: Bert Dirrix, Jan Westra & Sjef van Hoof