Greek in origin, the term tectonic derives from the term tekton, signifying carpenter or builder. [...] In Greek it appears in Homer, where it alludes to the art of construction in general. The poetic connotation of the term first appears in Sappho where the tekton, the carpenter, assumes the role of the poet.
From: K. Frampton, Studies in Tectonic Culture

In 'The Work of the Tekton' I have attempted to re-entwine the processes of thinking and making. 'Making' leads to discoveries that influence a design's concept and development along wholly individual lines. At such times, Tekton takes over the building process. In today's building practice, new disciplines keep appearing to join the others at work together on a building or structure. All components are thought out at the 'drawing board' and fixed to within an inch of their lives. The architect has a restricted role to play and is often merely the client's aesthetic consultant. Architecture for me is about assembling a building or structure from the inside outwards. So 'making' is not a question of construction but a key source of inspiration for the design process as a whole. Everything comes together at the building site. This is where the researching and experimenting is done.

This perspective led me to a final year research project in which an existing barn is transformed into a 'garden house'. The design process consists of spatial and material studies into the existing barn as well as actually building a new room. The remodelled barn is in the orchard near my parents' house on the outskirts of Heeswijk, a village southeast of 's-Hertogenbosch. My quest began by roaming the area and absorbing feelings, emotions and experiences relating to the context. Bit by bit the area was mapped and documented; the findings were then carefully dissected. This gave me a series of prototypical models.

The role played on site by the ever-repeating cycle (looking, discovering, focusing, making) and the strategy of representing all the disciplines yielded interesting discoveries for me as an architect. Obviously in practice the architect can not literally represent every discipline, but he or she can certainly direct the building process.

Substantive communication about 'building' and the right attunement between builder and architect for me means the exchange of ideas on assembling a building or structure from the inside outwards. This is what the two disciplines are all about.

Place of education: Amsterdam Academy of Architecture
Specialization: architecture
Tutors: Machiel Spaan, René Bouman, Frank Havermans, Jeroen Bosch