PORTRAIT OF A HOUSE /as found/

The house on Zonnewijzerspad 5 will be the ‘home’ base for the residency at the Zaanse Schans. A truly intriguing place, where at 8,45 while having breakfast, the first tourists look though the window…..Portrait of the house and it’s surroundings  starts from the detailing, color schemes, structural layering. Both simplicity and complexity achieved by putting the basic elements together. Portrait of the House records the situation as found containing the layer of the earlier residents, as the ‘wrapping’ by Dutch artist Amie Dicke. The study period will be rounded up by an expert dinner dealing with the themes of authenticity, monument, replica, public/private, continuity and more…… http://stadsherstel.tumblr.com/post/9005725517

ADRIATIC TOUR

ZAANSE SCHANS RESIDENCY

Non-fiction, office for Cultural Innovation invited HL architecture for the residency in a monumental house in the Zanse Schans. The famous, notorious and intricate place is owned by Stadsherstel that tries engaging with different audiences and adopting contemporary strategies for their projects. The residency will explore the past and future potential of the area, advising a strategic branding strategy. On a smaller scale the strategy will envisage the possibility of incorporating the traditional techniques, crafts,detailing and building parts into a contemporary setting, defining a new ZS brand. During the course of residency we will hold the open hours or ‘inloop spreekuur’ for architectural advice on site. http://non-fiction.nl/about/

PLEČNIK

On the recent visit to Ljubljana we went by few of Plečnik’s works. He is an absolute master of composition, material, detail, scale and atmosphere where heavy and light, soft and hard perfectly coexist. Still looking for a good book….Tromostovlje with the Tržnica market behind

CITY CENTRE

There are many various city centers. Some produce a characteristic skyline with alternating towers and other iconic forms. In that sense the very physical centre of Willemstad on the island of Curaçao also has a characterictic skyline with alternating towers…. from the oil rafinery. The land once belonging to the Jewish graveyard was sold to the petrol company, to be resold for a gulden. In the course of time the city grew completing a ring around the center. Until so far this would be the only place we know with an oil rafinery at it’s core.

WE20APR – FAILED ARCHITECTURE #02: FROM ALMERE TO ZAGREB

@ De Verdieping
Next FailedArchitecture is on April 20 with a.o. Petra Brouwer, Christian Ernsten, Fred Feddes, Ljubo Georgiev and Hršak Lada, who will take us from Almere to Zagreb via Detroit and Skopje.

Failed Architecture is a new series of talkshows with presentations by various experts and public discussions that focus on buildings and urban environments that failed to stand the test of time and are currently neglected, abandoned or even vandalized or demolished, because of changing economic, social, political, cultural and/or physical circumstances.

Without a doubt the maxim ‘Failed Architecture’ raises questions. What and according to whom is architecture failed? Which criteria do we use when assessing architecture, e.g. the viewpoint of inhabitants and/or users, architects and/or planners? And how does the ‘Zeitgeist’ or ‘our’ contemporary taste and cultural differences influence our judgment of buildings and cities?

Our contribution to the panel comes under the title: ‘Succesfull Modernism’  – The inside story of Zapruđe / Novi Zagreb

http://www.trouwamsterdam.nl/en/2011/04/we20apr-failed-architecture-2-from-almere-to-zagreb/#more-12743

INTERPOLATION

Layering in scale and time has always been a source of inspiration and intrigue. Herewith two examples from Pula in Croatia of how buildings and spaces coexist.