A housing estate and sailing school in IJmeer.

This project steps off from the Netherlands' bid to host the 2028 Summer Olympics. It constructs an island, Nieuw Pampus, in the waters of IJmeer as the centre of the Games. It goes on to show the consequences for planning and infrastructure that organizing the Games in the Netherlands might have. The planning process takes as its frame of reference a 'docking' principle where all buildings are moored like ships along a central quay, each bordering on one side of the island's public central axis.
Pushing the Envelope focuses primarily on the purpose the island should serve after the Summer Games. To make the very most of the qualities on site, I opted for a 'maritime' housing complex combined with a sailing school. The challenge is to design a convincing plan that will persuade people to make their home at a place where there is water and nothing else. The architecture has a major part to play in this. Armed with the basic qualities on site, I developed a concept that integrates water, views, sunlight and wind so that each dwelling can profit from these basic qualities. In addition, I sought to achieve variety and diversity in how the dwellings were organized in planning terms and determine how this drive is to be expressed in the collective context of the island. The outcome is a design for a tough, unbending envelope with a raked motif that allows all its dwellings a view of the lake.
Next, within the envelope four exceedingly diverse dwelling types and a sailing school were elaborated on the back of five 'rules of play'. These ensure the spatial and contextual qualities of the dwellings and at the same time speak a common language. The following rules of play obtain for all dwellings: 1. The envelope acts as the basis; 2. Perforating the envelope is only permitted at the entrance and the roof terrace; 3. Every dwelling has a large storeroom that opens onto the water level; 4. The internal configuration derives from the placement of self-contained boxes housing the more intimate features such as bedrooms and bathrooms. The remaining space constitutes the open living room. 5. Every dwelling has at least one place with through-views upwards, downwards and breadthways. The rules of play elicited five types: stair-house, block-house, row-house, boat-house and sail-house.
The envelope's outward form is one result of the internal residential programme on the one hand and the nature and scale of the place on the other. Placement and dimensioning of the open and relatively closed areas of frontage derive directly from the internal configuration of the dwelling it fronts, so that each dwelling is expressed in the facade as a unique DNA pattern. The firm lines of the envelope make the building look solid; it emphasizes the communal aspect. At the same time, the envelope is very finely detailed, its pattern of cladding panels exposing the individual aspect.

Place of education: TU Eindhoven | Specialization: architecture | Tutors: René van Zuuk, Ralph Brodrück, Jacob Voorthuis