My final year project is based on the competition 'Architecture without facades, an underground Leidseplein' whose brief was to extend the existing capacity of Leidseplein, the bustling centrally-situated square in Amsterdam, by going underground.

The plan consists of a structure in which a number of units are suspended. This is a general-purpose soil- and water-resistant structure generating space in the subsoil, and wired into the subterranean logistics system of the 'subtropolis', a metro transporting both visitors and goods. The nature of the functions of these units depends on where the structure is sited.

Ten units hang in the one I have sunk beneath Leidseplein. Each comes courtesy of a different architect, working to the norms applying to such a structure. These norms ensure the spatial quality and see to it that the structure is well-lit and airy. The units are accessed through the 'aorta', which is itself reached by escalator and lift. Drawing all the units together, the aorta winds gently down among the struts and tie rods.
Its route takes in large plazas with the smaller ones suspended above them to ensure maximum daylighting. The units in this case include auditoria for films and music, a department store, a park, an addition to the city theatre above, gallery spaces, conference halls, restaurants and cafés.
All this is sunk beneath Leidseplein save for some folding steel doors, a number of small glass lifts, a kiosk and air shafts placed discretely about the square. Leidseplein itself consists of gratings and perforated concrete slabs delivering light down into the complex during the day and putting on a light show in Leidseplein at night.

Place of education: TU Eindhoven
Specialization: architecture
Tutors: Bert Dirrix, Frans van Herwijnen & Hüsnü Yegenoglu