This building was the main reason for our visit to Barcelona. It was early in the morning when we arrived at the tiny pavilion set on a vast square. A serene silence enveloped us. As we made our way through the building we heard in the distance the sounds of a family approaching. They were caught up in a noisy argument, and were heading our way. This can't be right, resonated abrasively across the square. This, we thought, is the end of our well-nigh contemplative peace of mind. But the moment they entered the basement of the building, their attitude changed dramatically. The man, his wife and their three children moved through the interior with rapt attention, as though they were now on holy ground and in some way realized it.

Once when leafing through a book someone had given me, a little illustration caught my eye. The book was by a Professor Gout and was about freemasonry. Accompanying the picture in question was a brief description. This, I read, was a depiction of the Temple of Jerusalem, built by King Solomon in c. 950 BC. My own design grew up as a mental exercise around this archetype of the building art. I applied myself primarily to reflecting on the essence of building. The outcome of this reflection is a building that should be read as a model that can act as the basis for every building to be designed, regardless of function, size and setting.

Many philosophers, scholars and architects have identified the Temple of Jerusalem to be the source of all architecture. Some have dedicated their lives to giving shape to their own model of a building in which philosophy and architecture meet. However, no-one knows exactly how the Temple must have looked - that is, if it ever existed. The three books in the Bible containing a description of it are contradictory on many counts. But they do give us to understand that the Temple consisted of three parts: the porch, the house and the most holy house. These three spaces are often placed linearly and in a particular order of importance. In front of the building stood two pillars given the names Jachin and Boaz.

In my quest to find the essence of architecture I have given the Temple of Jerusalem an interpretation of my own. The model that ultimately ensued bears little resemblance to the more literal rendition of some older models. Seven elements representing the three spaces and the pillars are set in a composition that derives from the breadth of the solid walls which convey information about distances according to a basic system of measures. The setting, the material and even the scale of the building have been removed from the model. What remains is a delimiting of space in accordance with the rules of proportion.

Place of education: TU Eindhoven
Specialization: architecture
Tutors: Jan Westra, Gijs Wallis de Vries & Wil Derkse