The project breaks down into two components. The first is a theoretical study into the modern metropolis of New York. This gave me the departure points for another angle on the issues pertaining to Almere, the second component of my project. The American ideology proves to be one of permanent experiment, continuous change and a dream of freedom. I am convinced that by introducing elements of that ideology into the context of Almere a number of persistent problems can be resolved.

Almere, the Netherlands' latest town, was devised as the antithesis of modernistic urban design and a counterpart to the anonymous housing tracts of Bijlmermeer, which was regarded as a failure. In that capacity Almere was endowed with a polynuclear structure that would give the different centres an identity apiece. Regrettably the effect of this strategy has proved to be nil. Twenty-five years on, Almere is still struggling with its lack of identity.

My final-year design seeks to deploy Almere's lack of identity (its non-identity) as a strategy. The power for this strategy is sought not in the town's image but in its organization, to wit, Almere's astonishing capacity to accommodate change. The design constructs various operations which have the capacity both to create conditions and act as a catalyst as regards the speed and intensity of changes. This way, the endless possibilities of the city (read Almere) are explored within a context of permanent change, a trajectory with neither destination nor prediction. My plan does not offer a visual outcome in the traditional sense. It merely indicates the potentials of non-identity, an American issue which in the years to come will drastically alter the historical landscape of Europe.

Place of education: TU Eindhoven
Specialization: architectuur
Tutors: Wim van den Bergh, Wim Nijenhuis, Sulan Kolatan & William MacDonald