If cities in general, and Rotterdam in particular, are dynamic entities, why should buildings in those cities have to be static? This project makes an attempt to track down the realistic limits of a utopia where a building's function and form respond to the changing urban context.

The buildings designed in the project have a flexible form so that they can literally interact with the city. A suspended modular constructional system allows the buildings to accept different typologies over time, as the coming decades will make demands other than the ones made at present, The actual programme is accommodated in a system of containers. A secondary system of footpaths establishes relationships between the various functions.

The drive to effect a dialogue with the city is given shape on the back of a social theme. Two stereotypes, one at each end of the demographic spectrum, establish their presence in a closed constructional system where they are scrupulously brought into contact with one another. To enhance the identity of these two stereotypes they are related to two characters from popular films. Spud is a heroin addict doing a stint at a detox clinic (Trainspotting, 1996). Patrick Bateman is a successful young businessman who belongs to a fitness centre (American Psycho, 2000).

Whereas encounters of every kind are taking place throughout the building, the building itself is continually making its personality known to the city. The generic containers, clad in specific materials, are lifted above the city where they together constitute a kind of omnipresent monumental tree. Once close to the building, city-dwellers can establish what the relationships are between the containers, which will hopefully inspire them to think about the society we live in and the way we treat its weaker members.

Yona Friedman argues that a utopia has to remain a dream, as a utopia once actualized is no longer a utopia. This project does away with this argument. Here, vague ideals have been given solid form and a physical place for purposes of experiment and discussion.

Place of education: TU Delft
Specialization: architecture
Tutors: Susanne Komossa, Bas Gremmen, Paz Martin