Swiss Concreteness by Ales Moravec

CONCRETENESS SWISS

SWISS CONCRETENESS About E2A - architectural office, swiss architecture and concrete experiments.

seminar group on trip in Switzerland

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION TO SWISS CONCRETENESS. . . . . . . . . . . 12

EXCURSION TO SWITZERLAND. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

BUILDING ANALYSIS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 SCHÃ&#x153;LE OPFIKON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 HOUSE B. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 90 DEGREES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 CAMPUS MOOS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

INTERVIEW. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

COLUMN PROPOSALS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 GROUP NO. 01. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 GROUP NO. 02. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 GROUP NO. 03. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 GROUP NO. 04. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

EXHIBITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

INTRODUCTION TO SWISS CONCRETENESS How do you take a material as the starting point of your architectural design? The seminar of which the research is described in this book, explores the potential of Concrete to make architectural structures with. It is part of a larger and ongoing research project on architectural apprenticeship.

I would like to thank the following people for making this seminar possible:

The fifteen students involved with this seminar researched and analysed the work of the Swiss architecture firm E2A, founded by Piet Eckert and Wim Eckert. Letting themselves be inspired by these ‘Masters of Concrete’ they have furthermore performed several hands-on experiments with the actual material in a workshop concluded with a critic by Wim Eckert. This workshop was made possible by The Dutch Cement and Concrete Center with the generous and enthusiastic professional support of Siebe Bakker.

Coen Smets from the Cement and Concrete Center and Siebe Bakker for their energetic and generous support of the workshop and the study trip to Switzerland.

The seminar also included a study trip to Switzerland to experience the work of E2A and talk to Wim Eckert personally. This was probably the best way to learn about ‘Swiss concreteness’. What makes this country stand out in the world of architectural concrete? Is it the high level of craftsmanship, budget, a strong base of knowledge rooted in tradition, or something else? This book, made by all of the fifteen students, about the work of E2A and their use of concrete. Together with the results of the concrete workshop will be exhibited during the Dutch Design Week. All of the concrete experiments will finally be destroyed in a structural test.

Faas Moonen for his support during the entire Seminar and for sharing his knowledge about concrete with the students.

Wim Eckert for taking so much time to inspire all of the students and for giving his lecture in Eindhoven. Pia Simmendinger for making everything possible on behalf of E2A And above all: thanks to all of the students for their tremendous work.

ir. Jan Schevers Eindhoven University of Technology, Chair of Architectural Design and Engineering (ADE) October 2016

Jan Schevers https://www.tue.nl/universiteit/faculteiten/bouwkunde/de-faculteit/medewerkers/ detail/ep/e/d/ep-uid/19942029/

EXCURSION TO SWITZERLAND From September 28th to September the 30th, a group of students went on an excursion to Switzerland with Jan Schevers, teacher at the University of Technology Eindhoven, and Coen Smets from Cement en Beton Centrum. Various locations throughout Switzerland were visited to experience several architectural works by E2A and other architects to actually see and feel Swiss Concreteness. In the capital city, Zurich, works by Shigeru Ban, Le Corbusier, Christ & Gantenbein and E2A were visited. To give more insight on the way E2A deals with their architecture, the students visited their office for a short tour and an interview with Wim Eckert.

E2A - Lake House exterior

After leaving Zurich, Chur was the next destination. Here, the students were temporarily relieved from Swiss Concreteness by a lecture given by the Swedish architectural office Tham & Videgard in the HTW Chur, which was followed by a convivial drink. On the way back to Eindhoven, the students visited other works by E2A, with very surprising events, such as residents that allowed the students to walk around their villa through the garden, or a short talk with the person who helped constructing the Triangular House from E2A. Altogether, the excursion was a great success that brought many memorable experiences.

top E2A - Campus Moos interior

left Christian Kerez - Schulhaus Leutschenbach exterior bottom Christ & Gantenbein - National Museum Zurich interior

BUILDING ANALYSIS

SCHÜLE OPFIKON Team: Jørgen Hemesath Koen Coenders Stefan Wijsman Bart van Santen

SCHĂ&#x153;LE OPFIKON The Opfikon school building, realized in 2010, is an extension of the campus LĂ¤ttenwiese in Opfikon, with HRS Real Estate AG as the main contractor. E2A acquired the commission for the project by winning a competition in 2004, making it one of the earlier designs of the office. The building houses educational facilities as well as office spaces, placed separately in the volume1,2.

1 E2A - http://www.e2a.ch/projects/public-buildings/school-center-opfikon#/ 2 Archdaily - http://www.archdaily.com/114090/school-centre-in-opfikon-e2a

E2A - School Opfikon entrance

SITE/ CONTEXT The school campus of LĂ¤ttenwiese is situated in Opfikon, a small town just on the outskirts of Zurich. The new building conforms to the grid of the campus buildings, creating an angle with the Giebeleichstrasse directly to the North-East. The large rectangular volume connects to the mainly rectangular geometry of the existing campus buildings South-West of the building, making it stand out between the smaller scale simple pitched roof houses on the other side. The placement of the corridors within the building is based on geometry and functionality rather than context. The large glass endings of the corridors communicate the existence of the corridors to the outside, but do not frame any view in particular from the inside. Some of the vistas are even blocked by buildings in the close vicinity.

E2A - School Opfikon site plan

CONCEPT The concept of the building is inspired by the important role corridors once played in architecture, not merely a functional transition space, but a public area within the building, anchoring it to its context1. On each level the corridor plays a leading role in organizing the rooms and tying them together. The building is designed around a superposition of corridors for each level, of which two are rotated ninety degrees. The corridors act as the spine of the building, all other rooms, regardless of their function are located around the corridors. Therefore the inverse of the corridors are the rooms themselves. The models shown on the right are the concept articulated in the super-positioned corridors and the residual mass of the building. To accentuate this, both the inside surfaces of the mass and the surfaces of the corridors are rendered white.

1 E2A - http://www.e2a.ch/projects/public-buildings/school-center-opfikon#/

top E2A - School Opfikon corridor model bottom E2A - School Opfikon inverse model

CORRIDORS As mentioned before, the corridors play a leading role in the design of the building. All rooms are connected to and organized by it. The importance shows in the amount of space the corridors take on all floors. This role is not fully experienced in the building due to, among other, the scattered elements within the corridors. The fact that the corridors are disconnected on the ground floor stipulates the conformation of the large spaces in the concept to the programmatic in the realized building. Where in the concept the corridors are at the top of the hierarchical order, in reality they are rather perceived as service space than served space.

top E2A - School Opfikon second floor

bottom E2A - School Opfikon ground floor

middle E2A - School Opfikon first floor

first South-West elevation

third North-West elevation

second South-East elevation

fourth North-East elevation

top E2A - School Opfikon framed view bottom E2A - School Opfikon corridor in faรงade

CORRIDORS - SEPARATION

top E2A - School Opfikon South-West elevation middle E2A - School Opfikon first floor

bottom E2A - School Opfikon ground floor

top E2A - School Opfikon fireproof separation bottom E2A - School Opfikon fireproof separation

CORRIDORS - OBSTRUCTION Even though the corridors look obvious in the concept models, plan and elevation views, it remains vague in experience. Not only are the corridors divided in length by the fireproof glass walls, sight lines are also hindered by elements placed in the middle of the spaces. The rotated staircases block views towards the end of the corridor and make the space look smaller. Elevator shafts block all views and leave small hallways on either side. On the second floor, the corridor as shown in the concept model made by E2A (reproduced in this book), shows a T-shape corridor. However, the corridor is experienced as a rectangular shape, since both ends of the T are cut off by glass walls. These ends serve as conversation rooms. The corridorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; dimensions are not large enough to distinguish them as a concept from a slightly larger hallway. This is especially true for the ground floor, were the space of The corridor is limited to two small hallways on either side of the staircase.

top E2A - School Opfikon second floor bottom E2A - School Opfikon corridor interior

TINTED GLASS After closer inspection of the building there seem to be two types of coloured glass in the façade. The first one consists only of brownish glass. It’s dimensions are the same as the other windows, the only difference is visual. This type of glass is primarily used near the edges of the volume. The second type of glass looks darker and acts as a mirror, hiding what is behind the façade in order to create the illusion that the cantilevered mass floats above. This type of glass is primarily used on the ground floor, near the entrance to the North-West façade. The mirror glass folds around the corner without corner mullion, to create an uninterrupted sequence of windows on the ground floor, suggesting an openness or accessibility whilst maintaining the user’s privacy. In reality, however, the mirror glass masquerades the constructive wall parts in the North-West façade on the ground floor. In the interior coloured glass is used as well. The glass has a yellow tint and is used in the fireproof partition walls, the walls separating the conversation rooms and some of the balustrades. On the ground floor the large staircase has a dual function. Where part of the stairs is used for vertical transport, the other part serves as a stand for the children to climb and sit on. The yellow glass on one side of the staircase directs the view to the part used for vertical transport, while the other side is fenced off with colourless glass.

first E2A - School Opfikon South-West elevation

third E2A - School Opfikon North-West elevation

second E2A - School Opfikon South-East elevation

fourth E2A - School Opfikon North-East elevation

left E2A - School Opfikon flush faรงade right E2A - School Opfikon entrance staircase

bottom E2A - School Opfikon tinted panels

E2A - School Opfikon double cantilever

CONSTRUCTION The building consists of concrete walls and slabs that span from the facade to the corridor, which also makes them take part of the structural concept. The building cantilevers on two sides. The floor slabs of the first floor span from the corridors and are suspended from the walls perpendicular to the corridor on that floor. As mentioned before, the mirroring glass panels on the ground floor hide the concrete walls behind them. There is a difference between the floor span direction of the ground floor and the upper floors. Whereas the ground floor span is along the length of the building, the upper floors span the width of the building. Since the width is smaller than the length, there is no need for additional structuring elements other than the facade and the corridors. This enables changes in the building over time. Whenever the needs of the school change, separating elements can be (re)moved1. A main feature of the building mass is the double cantilever on the first floor. On one side the floors project outwards while keeping the same span direction, on the other side the floors are suspended to the walls. In this case the walls form the projecting elements, while for the most part resting on the wall below. This construction basically is a floor high beam.

1 E2A - http://www.e2a.ch/projects/public-buildings/school-center-opfikon#/

top E2A - School Opfikon second floor

bottom E2A - School Opfikon ground floor

middle E2A - School Opfikon first floor

TECTONICS In Opfikon E2A chose for two types of concrete finishes. On the outside the concrete has a smooth finish. The panels are prefabricated in different tints of green. On the inside, however, the concrete has a rougher finish, showing the grain of the wooden moulding. In the faรงade the glass is mounted flush with the concrete panels. Only the frames of the corridors protrude from the surface, accentuating again the importance of the corridors. On the ground floor both south facing faรงades consist of a curtain wall system. The connecting corner has no corner mullion which enables a continuation of the curtain wall without a visible edge. Both concrete and glazing on the exterior are placed within a grid. The grid is meant to unify the building, in spite of the two different, yet related programs of the two parts. Both glazing and concrete are subservient to the grid and therefore make it a whole. The joining of glass and concrete shows a gap, creating lines to emphasize the grid structure.

left E2A - School Opfikon concrete finish interior

bottom E2A - School Opfikon continuing faรงade

right E2A - School Opfikon faรงade panels

ROUTING As the spline of the building the corridors are the core of the routing throughout the building. All rooms open up to and are connected by these central elements. The vertical transport takes place at the freely placed independent stairs and the more rigidly placed elevators. This is what distinguishes the corridors from the rooms around it. The corridors are the only places reserved for routing, except for some hallways on the ground floor. In that sense the ground floor is a major exception, because the corridor is discontinued in the middle. This makes for two separate routing centres. Because of the wide stairs on the ground floor, of which only half is connected to the floor above, this part of the corridor does not project the same wide and open spatial qualities. It is rather condensed with two hallways on either side of the stairs. Some more vertical connections are made on the second floor, where light wells are cut out of the floor and are topped of with skylights. These skylights deliver natural light to the core of the building. One interesting aspect of the light wells is the continuation of the glass balustrade along with the floor. Where glass intersects the concrete floor, a black mirroring panel is used, hiding the floor whilst continuing the glass balustrade. This way the concrete slab of half a meter in thickness does not stand out to a layman. Because of the thick floor in combination with the height between floors, a landing is used within the staircases. The landings are placed where the stairs meet the floor above. This way the stairs remain monolithic on the outside, whilst hiding the floorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s thickness.

top E2A - School Opfikon second floor

bottom E2A - School Opfikon ground floor

middle E2A - School Opfikon first floor

E2A - School Opfikon vertical connections

left E2A - School Opfikon light well and skylight right E2A - School Opfikon free staircase

HOUSE B Team: Rik Okel Teun Vermeer Tim Steeghs Youri van den Heiligenberg

HOUSE B E2A designed a family residence on the outskirts of Zurich based on the principle of clearly defined spaces. A courtyard turns into a garden, which leads into the home’s main entrance, bedrooms and a garage. Named ‘House B’, the upstairs section hosts a studio space, office and gallery, as well as a terrace with a view over a nearby lake. This is all translated by a smooth design of a house made out of Swiss concrete. The architects state, “The house is a calm and concentrated vision in an otherwise excitable, cluttered environment.”

E2A - House B exterior http://www.e2a.ch/projects/housing/house-b#/page11/

HOUSE B - MODEL

top E2A - House B model bottom E2A - House B model

Model 1:200 House B

E2A - House B model

BASIC DRAWINGS The drawings on the right, show the floor plans. Since there is no information available about the basement, this floor plan is missing. Therefore, the first floor plan shows the ground floor. This floor contains the entrance possibilities to the building and building plot. The program of the floor shows a bathroom, a toilet, a garage, an office, a guest room and three bedrooms. The other spaces show storage space and/or movement spaces that connect spaces and upper and lower levels. The floor plan of the first floor shows a large cross in the living room area that points out that there is an atrium above. The kitchen forms the core part of the floor, but also separates the dining area and living room. On the left of the kitchen, a fire place and storage space are integrated into the wall. On the floor plan of the second floor, the atrium creates a view from the gallery down. In the core, that is situated directly above the kitchen, another wet cell is situated: the bathroom. The integrated cabinet is part of the dressing area which forms the transition between the gallery and the bedroom.

right E2A - House B first floor plan

bottom E2A - House B second floor plan 200

left E2A - House B ground floor plan 5 000 1 000 1 000 1 000 1 000 1 000

Scale lines 0.35mm, unbroken line, C:0 M:0 Y:0 K:100

The section shows that there is a basement underneath the building, which provides all available information about it. The most noticeable of the ground floor is that it appears to balance on the centre wall. Something similar appears to happen at the top floor. Therefore other constructive solutions are more likely which have been analysed at the chapter ‘structure’. The right page shows the elevations. The top left façade (south-west) shows the basic shape of the building with a small bay window. The division on the ground floor are panels that contain the garage door and the entrance door to the entrance hall. The top right (north-east) façade is similar to the left façade. The ground floor shows a complete transparent façade with doors to the garden. The height of the panels in the south-west façade compared to the north-east façade are similar to each other. Across the ground floor is the upper floor with a terrace and view of the adjacent empty space. The house ends without any transparency in the top floor in this façade. The left bottom (south-east) façade shows the width of the house. The house is partly buried in the ground, where on the left side the car drives in into the courtyard. The façade openings are turned out 90 degrees so there is a change in the view direction. This facade contains many closed parts. Concrete is what it is all about; however, the large window on the top floor is a subtle eye catcher. In the right bottom (north-west) façade there is a level difference in the ground. The facade is a copy of the south-east façade. In the centre of the façade, there is the entrance door where the residents can enter their home or either the guests.

E2A - House B section A-A

bottom E2A - House B south-east facade

top E2A - House B north-east facade 200

top E2A - House B south-west facade

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Scale lines

bottom E2A - House B north-west facade

CONCEPT The basic concept of house B consists of four parts. The design reacts against its surrounding. According to E2A, the surrounding does not have a clear identity in contrast to the continuity of the landscape. Because of the fascination with the former agricultural landscape and the value of this landscape, E2A tried to incorporate this in the architectural design. It flows through into the back garden of the building. This garden is not closed at the backside allowing the garden to continue into the landscape. In the design a clear decision was made to work with facade filling elements and the contrasts between solid and open parts. Therefore walls consists facade filling windows or walls. Through these contrasts between solid and window, a direction is created. The ground and first floor both have a direction towards the north-east. While the upper floorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s direction is shifted, and the floor is directed to follow a perpendicular axis. Through the closed elements a sheer distinction is made between the private inner spaces and the outside. While the concrete facade has a strict appearance on the outside it provides an enclosed space focussing on the privacy of the inside.

bottom E2A - House B continuation of the landscape

top E2A - House B open-closed parts facade 200

top E2A - House B the surrounding

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Scale lines

bottom E2A - House B public-private

VOLUMES The house mainly consists out of three volumes: a more or less square box and two rectangular boxes. These volumes are stacked upon each other to create three floor levels. The first and second floor share the same rectangular size in volume, while the main floor equals the size of two of these volumes (square volume). The volumes are stacked in such a way that, on top of the square volume, an outdoor space is created. This outdoor space, or balcony, can be reached on the first floor. Furthermore, upon examining these volumes, a clear symmetry within the total volume of the building can be seen. It results in two faรงades that are similar in shape. In the situation, these two faรงades are pointed towards public views - the street and the hill side - while the other faรงades are pointed towards other private properties. This could suggest that the architect chose to use a symmetry within the volumes to create equally shaped faรงades towards public areas.

E2A - House B volume analysis

RHYTHM Except from a vertical rhythm of the circles in the sliding door, which is superfluous for this analysis, the south-east and north-west facade contain no clear signs of rhythm. However, the south-west and north-east facade contain several rhythms that are manifested by the windows. The south-west facade has a rhythm within the doors and panels on the main floor, but it is not continuous to the floors above. The north-east facade includes two different rhythms created by windows. The main floor has a denser rhythm than the first floor, while the second floor contains no clear rhythm. It suggests that the architect did not want to create a facade with a coherent rhythm, but instead give every floor an own segmentation of elements. The rhythm in these faĂ§ades could relate to the interior of the house; for example, the main floorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dense rhythm within the windows relates to the interior walls caused by many indoor spaces, while the first floor contains fewer walls and spaces that fits to a less dense rhythm in the facade.

bottom E2A - House B south-east facade

top E2A - House B north-east facade 200

top E2A - House B south-west facade

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Scale lines

bottom E2A - House B north-west facade

DEPTH The faรงades of house B are designed flush with a few exceptions that create some depth in the building. What can be best seen in the analysis of the north-east facade, depth is mostly created by the shape of the building. However, there are a few exceptions that give the faรงades depth of which the bay window is the most noticeably one. The bay-window is probably functioning as a place to get some fresh air in to the room, because the large window in this room is fixed. E2A tried to implement this window in an attractive way, that in the south-west facade breaks the symmetry and flushness. It results an element that easily gets your attention, which becomes a recognizable part of house B. Another element that creates a change in depth is the roof. The change in depth makes the roof subordinate to the concrete walls next to it. It results in an emphasis of the thickness of these concrete walls.

bottom E2A - House B south-east facade

top E2A - House B north-east facade 200

top E2A - House B south-west facade

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Scale lines

bottom E2A - House B north-west facade

TRANSPARENCY In general, some faรงades appear to be very closed. However, the density of the concrete faรงades is rectified by large windows that create great views and allow many daylight into the building. The small bay window nor gives a great view, nor obtains many daylight, but functions as a window that can be opened for fresh air.

bottom E2A - House B south-east facade

top E2A - House B north-east facade 200

top E2A - House B south-west facade

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Scale lines

bottom E2A - House B north-west facade

VARIATIONS The façades of House B show some anomalies that variate from the main volume and create a more playful and more interesting building. Every facade has variations on the basic volume. The front façade shows three noticeable elements. All of them are rectangular and show different ways of use. One of them is the front gate which fills the rectangular gap with the same material that is used for the main volume. The second variation is the big window on the upper floor level. This rectangle is filled with glass and pushes the concrete volume down to create an opening for daylight. The third variation in the volume is the rectangular gap at the right. This gap is positioned in the garden area of the building and creates a more open and accessible fence and transition to the completely open back of the private garden area. In the back façade, two variations are the same as in the front façade, the big window on the second floor and the gap in the garden area. The two other variations are entrances or exits to the building or building plot. Both variations have different materials, compared to the main volume. With the ‘emergency exit’, on the patio, an attempt has been made to recreate the appearance of the concrete wall. The other door has a more reflective surface that contradicts with the density of the concrete. The side façades show the most differences within the main volume. The left façade has a very remarkable protuberance on the second floor level. This protrusion covers a window and funnels the view. The other variation is the wall on the ground floor. After analysing the facade by drawings and pictures, it shows that there is a coat over the concrete wall like a curtain wall (see right). The pictures on the other hand show a completely different material than what you would expect with a curtain wall. It is not clear what material has been used for the panels but it is clear to see that, just like the ‘emergency exit’ door, there was an attempt to match the concrete. The

E2A - House B inner courtyard http://www.e2a.ch/projects/housing/house-b#/page6/

opposite, right façade also has transparent variations in the façade. The difference with the left façade is that the materials of these openings are translucent. The glass windows and (sliding) doors on the ground floor and first floor give access to the outer spaces like the garden and the roof terrace.

bottom E2A - House B south-east facade

top E2A - House B north-east facade 200

top E2A - House B south-west facade

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Scale lines

bottom E2A - House B north-west facade

THRESHOLD The house contains two main entrances. One entrance that has to be reached through a sliding door, which is the main entrance for visitors or by car. The other entrance can be accessed from the hill side, which directly connects to the bedrooms, so that it could serve as an emergency exit as well.

bottom E2A - House B ground floor plan 200

left E2A - House B south-east elevation right E2A - House B north-west elevation

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Scale lines 0.35mm, unbroken line, C:0 M:0 Y:0 K:100

FUNCTIONS The functions in House B are not that different from the standard room division. However, because of the fact that it is a private dwelling, there are some additions to create a home that meets the personal taste. The analysis shows a variety of functions that are divided into five groups. Living spaces, like the bedrooms, an office, a guest room, a living room, dining room and a gallery. Movement spaces for the use of transportation through the building like the hallways and the stairs. Wet cells that contain the sanitary room like the toilets, bathrooms and kitchen. As fourth group there are storage spaces like the garage and some cabinets. The fifth group is the outdoor private spaces like the driveway, the garden and the roof-terrace. When the plot is entered, the outdoor private spaces are the first thing that are passed. They form a bridge between the outdoor public world and the inner private spaces. The movement spaces on the ground floor are the next group of spaces. They connect the different rooms with each other and includes the entrance hall. The living spaces are all situated on the same side of the building with a transition to the outdoor area by means of the large openings in the facade. On the ground floor, the living spaces contain three bedrooms, a guest room and an office as functions. The second floor is reached by the movement areas that are located at the opposite side of the building compared to the living spaces. The living spaces (living room and dining room) and the kitchen also function as movement space on this floor. They also connect to the roof terrace. The third floor contains the more private functions of the house. The living spaces that are the bedroom and the gallery are carefully situated in such way that the gallery is semi-accesible. The atrium connects the gallery with the living room and form in this way the connection with the more public space. The wet cell is a bathroom that,

in combination with the closet/dressing space, separates the private bedroom with the gallery. The house also includes a basement. Its function and measurements is not clear, since there is no information about the basement or floor plans available.

Living Space

Movement

Wet Cell

Storage Space

Outdoor Privat Space

living space movement wet cell storage space outdoor private space

Living Space Living Space Movement Living Space Movement Wet Cell Living Space Movement Wet Cell Storage Space Living Space Movement Wet Cell Storage Movement OutdoorSpace Privat Space Wet Cell Space Storage Outdoor Wet Cell Privat Space Storage OutdoorSpace Privat Space Storage Space Outdoor Privat Space Outdoor Privat Space

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Living Space Movement Wet Cell Storage Space Outdoor Privat Space

bottom E2A - House B second floor plan 200

left E2A - House B ground floor plan right E2A - House B first floor plan

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Scale lines 0.35mm, unbroken line, C:0 M:0 Y:0 K:100

ROUTING Entering the building and the building plot, and continuing to move through the building, can be done in three different ways. The main entrance is through the big gate. This gate leads to the driveway and is probably the most important and often used entrance. The other (secondary) entrances to the plot, or the building, are functioning as a back door or as an emergency exit. Beyond the gate, the routing splits in two possibilities. One route leads to the garage and, thereafter, to the entrance hall. The other pedestrian entrance leads directly to the entrance hall. This space is the distributive area on the ground floor and leads to the lower and upper floors, the sanitarian cells and the bed-, guest- and study rooms. On the first floor, the routing is arranged in a way that an inhabitant will experience the whole building. The routing goes through all spaces and again ends up at the stairs to the second floor. At this level, there is a possibility to go to the roof terrace and into the kitchen. The second floor is arranged in the same way as the first floor. The routing guides visitors through the spaces and ends in the bedroom, which is the most private part of the house. The ongoing route on the first and second floor is a noticeable difference compared to the ground floor where the route ends at certain spaces and has multiple possibilities.

primary routing secundary routing

bottom E2A - House B second floor plan 200

left E2A - House B ground floor plan right E2A - House B first floor plan

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Scale lines 0.35mm, unbroken line, C:0 M:0 Y:0 K:100

SEQUENCE OF SPACE For the sequence of space, the routing plays an important role. Because of the choice to guide the residents through the building, the sequence is immediately arranged. This means that everyone who walks through the building can experience every room. This experience is different on every floor. From the outside, the building creates a closed atmosphere. This feeling continues when the driveway has been entered. The fact that the space between the main building volume and the retaining wall is relatively narrow, compared to the height of the building, it creates an imposing sight. Continuing the sequence into the building, a variation of spaces and experiences follows. Spaces with ‘normal’ ceiling heights variate with a mezzanine created by an atrium in the living room. Also the openings towards the outside play with the user experience. The large openings on the ground floor and the first floor create a huge irruption of daylight. This also happens in two other façades on the second floor which creates, on one side of the building, a great play of light in the living room and gallery. When the functions of the spaces are compared to the sequence, the spaces are positioned in a smart way. The more private rooms are the ones that are reached at the end of the route. In this way it will not happen very often that visitors end up in a private area.

E2A - House B isometric view of the ground, first and second floor

STRUCTURE Swiss architecture can count on amazing craftsmanship at the building site. Therefore, E2A often works with concrete and creates very interesting shapes and volumes with constructive solutions that are not very common in the Netherlands. This is also a fact at House B. In Swiss construction it is very common to pour the majority of the concrete at site instead of using prefabricated elements. The construction of House B shows a couple of interesting connections and solutions. The remittance of forces by the walls is an example of this. The remittance on the second floor differs with the first floor and the ground floor. And in combination with the big openings in the façades, questions occur about the way that the floors are connected to the walls. The solution of this remittance is given by the walls on the second floor. These walls, who are perpendicular to the lower load bearing walls, act as two one-story high concrete beams. The floor and the roof are connected with these ‘beams’ and by doing this, the forces are guided through the roof and floor via the wall to the walls on the first floor. This same solution is used at the roof terrace. The glass façade that connects the bedrooms with the garden cannot carry any weight or other forces. Therefore, a beam is poured at the end of the terrace which is connected to the floor. Apart from the forces created by gravity, there are stability wall that deal with the forces created by wind. These walls are located on top of each other in the left facade and go all the way up from top until bottom.

top E2A - House B isometric view of the building bottom E2A - House B isometric view ground floor

top E2A - House B isometric view structure first floor bottom E2A - House B isometric view of the building

DETAIL V.01 This vertical detail shows the connection between the constructive wall (that functions as a beam â&#x20AC;&#x201C; see structure) and the roof at the second floor. In this detail, the choice of materials is very clear. The main material that is used in the building (concrete) is also the main material that is visible in the detail. Other solutions, regarding the thermal bridges that occur where construction and outer skin meet, are also visible. Apart from the materials, the measurements are an important factor. The thickness of the wall is a noticeable factor, in the sense of the double concrete wall (inside and outside) that signifies the building. The roof structure shows a substrate layer, a water storage element in combination with a protective mat. This could mean that the roof is a green roof on which some vegetation grows.

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top E2A - House B V.01 detail 1:25

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Scale lines

DETAIL V.02 This second vertical detail shows the connection of the inside and outside of the building at the cross-section where the first floor meets the roof terrace. Again, this detail shows a clear materialisation. Concrete floor slabs, and for the inner walls (load-bearing and non-load-bearing) the BN-bricks. The thermal bridges that occur underneath the sill and between the garage and the living room are solved. The height difference at the transition between the roof terrace and the inside spaces is reduced to a minimum which creates, together with the floor covering, a connection with the outside.

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top E2A - House B V.02 detail 1:25

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DETAIL V.03 This third detail shows the bottom part of the vertical line that has been analysed and detailed in the previous details as well. It shows the connection of the soil with the building and in particular, the transition from the garage to the corridor. The concrete floor shows two different heights. This is a result of the function that the spaces have. The thickest part contains the garage which should carry the most weight in terms of a car. That is also the reason of the top layer (hard concrete). The right part of the detail shows the corridor and a corner of a bedroom. The thickness of the concrete floor slab makes room for a layer of insulation. At the points where the walls connect to the floor, a thermal bridge solution is given (thermur).

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top E2A - House B V.03 detail 1:25

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90 DEGREES Team: Axel Geurts Maria Gabriella Vaca Sanchez Rutger Klaver Luuk van Ingen

90 DEGREES The 90 Degrees building derived its name from its characteristic shape, it was realized in 2008, as an addition to the garden of the landowner. According to the landowner who we spoke outside of the building during our visit, he wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t happy about his garden and wanted a way to improve and utilize it. The garden was quite dark due to shadows that were cast by the tall trees in the back of his garden. Where the tall trees once stood is now the apartment building, and because of its white faĂ§ade it reflects a small part of the daylight making the garden more brighter than it was before the building was erected. Leaving the land owner with a nicer garden and with three nice apartments which he rents out.

1 E2A - http://www.e2a.ch/projects/housing/triangle-house#/page1/

E2A - 90 Degrees north facade

SITE The project is located in Winterthur, and lies within the garden of the land owner. The main design focus of the building was thus primarily based on optimizing the garden, with a special emphasis on reducing the shadow. The hilly terrain creates big differences within the ground level around the house, which is conveniently used to cover the car park.

E2A - 90 Degrees site plan

CONCEPT The 90 Degrees building also referred to as the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Triangel apartment hausâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; derived its form by the leftover space in the garden of the owner of the plot. The corner of the plot was left untouched by the architects who designed the villa. This project was made as a densification scenario in which the optimal use of the plot was investigated without interfering with the existing villa. As mentioned before the owner didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t use this plot of land and welcomed an intervention by the architects. By packing everything into the corner, the villa was left undisturbed and most of the garden stayed intact. The triangular form of the building was not made as a grand gesture, but as a result of the site conditions.

1 http://www.e2a.ch/projects/housing/triangle-house#/page2/ 2 http://www.e2a.ch/projects/housing/triangle-house#/page2/

top E2A - 90 Degrees model (west facade) bottom E2A - 90 Degrees model (north facade)

DIVISION The triangle house is divided in three different apartments, each floor is reserved for just one residence. The organization of each apartment is quite similar due to the fixed access space and shafts that run straight through the building. This leads to a well divined set of spaces on the side of the garden and an open undefined space at the street side. There are no walls within this space, to create separated spaces between the living room and the bedroom there are walls of closets placed within the open space. Apart from the fixed organization of the floor plan on the east side, all apartments have their own balcony which are orientated on the different positions of the sun and unique view lines. thereby making the living experience of every apartment slightly different to each other. All three apartments also have shared spaces within the building, such as the parking garage which is situated on the ground floor, connected to the shared staircase with an elevator. Underneath the ground floor there is also a basement which is accessed by the stairs in front of the building connecting to the sidewalk. Unfortunately we couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t find any drawings of the basement, although we did receive a good glance of the inside through the glass door when we were at the location. The basement holds private storage rooms for the occupants and it creates a direct connection between the street and stairwell, making it the primary entry of the building.

top E2A - 90 Degrees section bottom E2A - 90 Degrees west elevation

E2A - 90 Degrees ground floor

top E2A - 90 Degrees second floor bottom E2A - 90 Degrees third floor

FUNCTIONS The floor plans of the apartments can be considered to be a bit unusual, they differ from the conventional floor plans within most apartments. This is due to the irregular triangular shape of the building, which is derived from the building plot as mentioned before. The triangular shape of the building has led to a division in the floor plans whereby all of the fixed functions are located against the straight wall of 90 degrees, such as the staircase and wet cells (bathroom, toilet and kitchen). And one completely open side without any fixed walls, that can be organized according to the wishes of the inhabitants. This leads to a very stark routing throughout the east side of the building and a completely free routing on the west side. However it still clearly visible that the fixed functions create their own routing alongside it within the free and undefined living space. When entering the apartments the routing splits up, there is a walking way alongside the straight wall which is emphasized by the line of closets. The closets can be moved so that the inhabitants can create their own desired layout of the floor plan. But the floor plans on the drawings on the next page are how the architect envisioned the optimal floor plans of his design.

Wet cells Sleeping function Balcony/terrace Linving space Acces area Parking space Shaft

E2A - 90 Degrees ground floor functions

top E2A - 90 Degrees second floor functions bottom E2A - 90 Degrees third floor functions

top E2A - 90 Degrees photo bedroom bottom E2A - 90 Degrees photo balcony

OUTSIDE SPACES The 90 degrees house is constructed on an existing plot in which the existing house and garden. Even though the landowner gave in space for the house, the hindrance to his own quality of living should be minimum. Therefore the house was placed on the corner of the plot, and the faรงade facing the garden is kept as close as possible to provide some privacy. Furthermore the 90 degrees house itself has no garden so the garden of the existing house could be kept as large as possible. To pandering to the lack of an unusable garden, the apartments of the 90 degrees house each got their own outside space. The strong triangular volume of the house should not be affected with the creation of these outside spaces. Consequently the outside spaces are made within the triangular volume. Similarly the outside space are partly shielded by continuing outside walls. In order of that the strong formal idiom keeps intact. Each floor has a particular kind of outside space, and they are all created on a different side of the building to keep the apartments separated. Of course the faรงade facing the garden does not contains any outside spaces. On the first floor the outside space is made in the point of the building. The outside space is facing the street and is not complete open to maintain the volumetric composition of the building despite it is a relative large outside space. The Outside space on the second floor is the smallest of all. This outside space is negative cube penetrating the volume were the opening in the face consists the exact dimensions of the outside space. Due to the variety of the surface level and the closed character of this side of the plot, the outside space could be extended with a terrace next to the house. The fact that the cube is a penetration of the main volume in the centre of the faรงade brings also a quality to the interior. This means that a room of outside space is enclosed by inside space and becomes a terrarium of the elements, and as well provides a spatial arrangement

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to the apartment. The outside space on the third floor is by far the largest outside space. The big terrace is not obviously recognizable in the volume due to the outside walls that enclose the whole space. The corner of het volume is slightly cut of which makes this outside space not just an enclosed courtyard but opens it up in the corner.

top E2A - 90 Degrees volumetric isometry bottom E2A - 90 Degrees volumetric isometry

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ROUTING All apartments can be accessed through one single stairwell, which is located against the east-faรงade of the building. The stairwell can be entered from two sides. At ground level, the stairwell can be entered through the parking garage and below ground level it can be entered through the basement. Both the parking garage and the basement connect to the same street (west-side of the building). However the basement serves as the entry hall to the building, all of the doorbells and mailboxes belonging to the residents are situated here. The stairwell is situated at the east side for a better connection to the parking garage, although this also ensures a bit more privacy for the landowner, who has now less windows overlooking his garden. When entering the apartments from the stairwell you immediately enter the living rooms, which are open spaces without walls that all have good views over the streets at the south- and west side of the building. Without any walls, the routing within the apartments is shaped by large rows of closets which separate the spaces within the living room. Alongside the stairwell are also the other fixed functions located, such as the wet rooms (bathroom & toilet) and the kitchens are also situated here. The main reason is because all these functions are all dependent on the vertical shaft that is located next to the stairwell. This translates itself into the floor plans as one solid block on the east-faรงade, which also creates a walking route alongside it towards all of the functions. The routing inside of the apartments are more or less dependent on the interiors of the inhabitants, although the architect did think about the most logic arrangement of floor plans.

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E2A - 90 Degrees ground floor routing

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top E2A - 90 Degrees second floor routing bottom E2A - 90 Degrees third floor routing

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E2A - 90 Degrees photo acces area

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STRUCTURE The structure of the building is mainly obtained by bearing walls in the facade and the staircase and elevator shaft. The ground floor, which is the first apartment, has also a wall in the centre of the living space. This is a bearing wall and has beams on both extensions. This makes the span direction clear for the biggest surface of the concrete floors. The span direction of the floor nearest to the street side, could be spanned in a direction which is perpendicular to the facade nearest to the street side. The advantage of this option is the reduction of the span length of the floors. The disadvantage is that the floor needs to cut off in different directions and the floor plan becomes more difficult. Another possibility could be that the floors are spanned in continuous direction of the span direction of the staircase. In this way the floor plan becomes more easy and the floors are cut off only to fit on the facade on the street side. Because of these reasons this option seems to be the most plausible. The first floor has an inner balcony, whereby the inner glass facade is in the same line as the inner bearing wall below. On the inner corners of the balcony are two slender steel columns, which bears the beam for the upper floor. The second floor has a bigger balcony, in the corner of the building. In the middle of the separation between the balcony and the apartment inside is placed a same slender column. This column is in the same bearing line as below.

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E2A - 90 Degrees ground floor structure

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top E2A - 90 Degrees second floor structure bottom E2A - 90 Degrees third floor structure

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WINDOWS The strong volumetric composition of the 90 degrees house is composed with a large variety of different windows. Next to the difference in size, the placement of the windows is also done in a random looking composition. The print in of the formwork in the concrete on the other hand is strictly rectilinear, which amplifies the visual randomness of the windows. This random appearance of openings in the volume emphasizes the closed concrete and hence also strengthens the monolithic volume. Of course the seemingly enormous variegation is a smart and well thought design move. There are actually just five different window frames. The composition in the placement and combination of different windows together makes this illusion so powerful. Even the location of the floors is not directly recognizable. Again, in this scheme the difference between the faรงades is visible. Since the faรงade to the garden should be more closed due to the privacy of the land owner, here are not as many windows placed. Furthermore it is clear that in this faรงade smaller windows are placed. The open terrace on the third floor also got four openings in the faรงade to establish a perspective. These openings are design in the same way as the normal window frames, but without the possibility to open. Because of the open floor plans, it is unlikely that the placement and dimensions of the openings are directly a consequence of the interior. Nevertheless there is a wide spectrum of perspectives and intensity of daylight reached. Therefore the placement of the windows is a combination of establishing views and light for the interior together with creating a visual random placement in the faรงade.

1 http://www.e2a.ch/projects/housing/triangle-house#/page5/

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2250 x 1500 mm

1800 x 1250 mm

1400 x 1000 mm

1000 x 700 mm

750 x 550 mm

E2A - 90 Degrees windows

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AXONOMETRY

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CAMPUS MOOS Team: Aleš Moravec Chunfei Bai Danfeng Zou

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CAMPUS MOOS The Campus Moos school building, finished in 2016, is an extension of the existing school complex “In Moos”. By winning the 1st prize of the “Restricted Competition 2013”, E2A was requested to take charge of this extending project. What they first focus on is the unbuilt exterior environment. To be more specifically, The exterior spaces are supposed to used efficiently in the future.

1 E2A - http://www.e2a.ch/projects/housing/triangle-house#/page1/

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E2A - 90 Degrees north-facade

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SITE - CONTEXT The school of Campus Moos is located in the town of RĂźschlikon, Switzerland. In this area, there is a sport filed to the west and some existing school buildings and housing buildings surrounded. The new building is requested to be space efficiently because E2A pay more attention to the unbuilt environment. More specifically, the existing area is full of the sycamores in the forecourt along SĂ¤umerstrasse - which might be the entrance to the campus. And also the new building are supposed to have some connection to the two existing buildings along with a multi-functional hall and gymnasium wing1.

1 E2A - http://www.e2a.ch/projects/public-buildings/campus-moos-0#/page1/

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E2A - Campus Moos site plan

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CONCEPT MODEL By means of making this concept model, it is easier for us to know about the whole building structure which plays a significant role in the new building. On the base of connecting and also saving much of the exterior environment with the building, the new building was required to be compact, compressed and organized vertically. Also it leaves out much of the concrete facade as windows in a logic way. By doing so, â&#x20AC;&#x153; Campus Moosâ&#x20AC;? achieves a perfect position between inside and outside. The model was made of fluting paper. The reason why only use same material is that it is a good way to show the progressing structure.

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top E2A - Campus Moos concept model bottom E2A - Campus Moos concept model

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STRUCTURE ANALYSIS The pure and robust structure was supported mainly by concrete and also structured by two central cores.1 The different layers are formed without columns stand as a maximally flexible space use. From the horizontal layers, they are based on same basic program which are supported by two opposite concrete facade and also inverted at ninety-degree angles from each other. By doing so, it is true that the building can easily form different point of view on its logically rotated faรงades.

1 E2A - http://www.e2a.ch/projects/public-buildings/campus-moos-0#/page1/

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right E2A - Campus Moos structure analysis

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core

bearing wall

column

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beam

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380 2980 240 2980 380 2980 240 2980 380 2980 380 4000 380 2980

top E2A - Campus Moos south-west elevation bottom E2A - Campus Moos section

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top E2A - Campus Moos window views bottom E2A - Campus Moos bearing walls

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SPATIAL ARRANGEMENT The public area was put in the centre of every layers and define other functionalities such as classrooms, office rooms and cafeteria along public area. By doing so, the new building can lead the exterior environment into itself and also can make the different functionalities flexible. More specifically, the first layer can be divided into three parts which are schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; foyer, the multi-purpose hall and cafeteria. These space are not bearing any load. So it is easy to combine different rooms with one another to a new larger space for some special events. And the second, third, and fourth floors are arranged for mainly classrooms and also they can combine each other into a larger classroom. The meddle public space serves as recreational space. The kitchen, ICT classrooms and therapy are placed on the fifth floor. All the space are based on same spacial principle.

1 E2A - http://www.e2a.ch/projects/public-buildings/campus-moos-0#/page1/ 2 Gooood - http://www.gooood.hk/campus-moos-in-switzerland-by-e2a.htm

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1 1 2 1 2 2

3 3 5

5 3 3

3 3 5

5 3 3

4 5

5 3 3

5 5

1 Kitchen 2 Canteen 3 Classroom 4 Library 5 Office 6 Cafeteria 7 Hall

bottom E2A - Campus Moos public area analysis

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top E2A - Campus Moos library bottom E2A - Campus Moos classroom

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E2A - Campus Moos public space

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ROUTING The Campus Moos school building, finished in 2016, is an extension of the existing school complex “In Moos”. By winning the 1st prize of the “Restricted Competition 2013”, E2A was requested to take charge of this extending project. What they first focus on is the unbuilt exterior environment. To be more specifically, The exterior spaces are supposed to used efficiently in the future.

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E2A - Campus Moos routing analysis

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SPIRAL STAIRCASE The most beautiful part of the new building is the spiral stairs. As we all know, it is a toughing job to make the spiral curves by using concrete materials. The one in campus moos was formed by different parts with its layers. The surface is really smooth and flat. This robust stair stands in the right centre of every floor and serves as the main vertical transportation. As itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s obvious from the spatial arrangement analyses, the corridors are inverted at ninety-degree angles however, staircase should be straightly connected to corridor so architect at E2A were facing a serious design challenge. This challenge was solved by asymmetrical stair flight, allowing smooth connection to corridors moreover, it created an extraordinary shaped staircase.

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3rd

astonishing curve as a result of asymmetrical stairs flight

corridor direction on 4th floor

2nd

left E2A - Campus Moos spiral stairs

bottom E2A - Campus Moos spiral stairs

right E2A - Campus Moos spiral stairs

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DETAIL - STAIRCASE As it was already mentioned above, the staircase is beautiful, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the beating heart of Campus Moos. The central position emphasises its presence in the interior therefore itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very eye-catching element. By close examination of the staircase, an interesting question has to pop up in head. How did they make the 10 centimetres gap between the staircase itself and the banister? There is one fact that might be confusing, in order to find the right answer. The fact is that Campus Moos was cast on site so probably the only way how to cast two element so close to each other on site, is to burn the mould out. Yes, exactly as Peter Zumthor did in case of Klaus Field chapel. However not in case of Campus Moos. There was another trick used in order to make the 10 centimetres gap. The staircase was prefab on site, the casting mould for the staircase was built next to the building, where it was also cast. After hardening, the staircase was demoulded and installed inside the building.

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;This massive thing (staircase) is killing me every time.â&#x20AC;? Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how one student comment on the staircase.

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cylindrical void ready for the staircase staircase prefab on site outside the building

staircase in final position

top E2A - Campus Moos spiral stairs - detail bottom E2A - Campus Moos staircase installation

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DETAIL - FACADE

When you observe Campus Moos from the outside, you see neat, exposed concrete facade. Nowadays, most façades like this are made by two concrete layers, one load bearing and the second one exposed to the outside. Those two layers are separated by insulation in order to prevent thermal bridges. E2A’s motto it that, what you see, is what you get. Hence the concrete, which is visible from the outside is exactly the same piece of concrete as it’s visible from the interior. There is no insulating layer, splitting the wall. However E2A is aware of thermal bridges so they invented a solution. They created 67 centimetres wide insulating strip inside the building as you can see on the detail.

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You get, what you see.

Yes, this exposed concrete is exactly the same piece of concrete as inside the building.

INSULATING WINDOW FRAME

INSU

670

1300

INSULATION

INSULATING WINDOW FRAME

INSU insulation strip 670

left E2A - Campus Moos facade detail

bottom E2A - Campus Moos interior

right E2A - Campus Moos facade

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INTERVIEW Interview with Wim Eckert from E2A office On September 28 till September 30, 2016 the students participating the Seminar Swiss Concreteness had a short, but very interesting, excursion to Switzerland. During this trip several projects were visited which were designed by the architect office E2A. The E2A architect office started in Zurich in 2001 by the brothers Piet and Wim Eckert. Today, the team consist of around 30 people and they have designed several buildings, most of them in the region of Zurich. On September 29 we had the opportunity to have an interview with Wim Eckert. Because it was the first meeting, we were very curious to meet the architect. Afterwards we can look back to a very nice interview, whereby each participating student of this Seminar was present, which is quite unusual but made a very special experience for the entire group. Therefore we want to thank Wim Eckert for this moment and the time he reserved for us, we all had a wonderful experience that day. Interviewers: LI Luuk van Ingen MGVS Maria Gabriella Vaca Sanchez Architect: WE Wim Eckert

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LI: Many thanks that you have made time for us, so we

LI: And you also worked at OMA in Rotterdam in 1996

could have the chance to have this interview with you. The first question is one belonging to the introduction. You have studied at the ETH University in Zurich till you graduated in 1995. What kind of influence has this on your present work and what were the learning experiences at the ETH that you think are most valuable for you?

and 1997. Does that period influenced your present work?

LI: You speak about a mental discipline. How did you fill

WE: First, the thing my brother and I have is roots from the Benelux. My grandparents lived in Belgium and so we spent some time over there. So the landscape is familiar as well for us. And twenty years ago, for us it was an important moment to leave Switzerland. We have been raised in Switzerland, but not really rooted. This change from Switzerland to OMA was also a movement back to like our early things. And in particular OMA was a very small office in that time, without the global power it has nowadays. It was a very intimate office. But this office was in that time not about buildings, but about architecture. So the desire to gain a theoretical understanding of architecture and to realise architecture. Also Rotterdam was a really exciting place to be. The harbour was moving from the city to the end of the Maas, so the formal harbour area started to develop. A very exciting moment. And what we learned and took with us was an analytical way of thinking about “what is there?”, in a very sharp way without emotions. What we now understand is not about producing visions, but more about having a talent to understand “what is happening there?”. Understanding a certain reality and transport that idea into the project. So, certainly it has an influence in our work, but it is also twenty years ago. In the meantime a lot of other things happened.

in the gap between the technical backpack and the little architectural backpack personally?

LI: And those things happened with the office E2A you

WE: The ETH University is a very straightforward school, probably the best school in the world. It has a tremendous budget. Only three schools of that kind are located in Switzerland, whereby only this school belongs to the Swiss government. So it is a Swiss national school. The school has a technical background. A great technical part during the study so you learn to understand the way to built things. This means not only structural, but also to built in a technical way. It gives you a great backpack, but unfortunately that is not enough. The study does not satisfy in the architectural part in comparison to the technical part. So there arises a kind of a gap between those two parts. And you need to have a mental discipline, because in the end it becomes hard to do architecture. You need to know how to do it and if that goes in the right way you can go beyond afterwards. So of course it has a certain influence. It is a very educational ground course.

WE: In the beginning to start somewhere it has no technical background. It was a kind of a mental escape, whereby you do not want to learn how to build, but to understand what you want to build. So leaving behind what you already learned and do the thing that you desire for giving you insight to find your professional career you want to do. There is no master plan for that, it is just at that moment the right thing to do. After that you start to think, to write and design in an architectural way, which does not have to be waterproof. It is an whole other level.

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are now leading together with your brother, which is quite an unique situation. What are the advantages and disadvantages to lead the office together with your brother?

WE: To lead an architecture office may be an unique thing for the outside, but inside the office it is completely normal. It is something that automatically happened. It is a natural decision to do when you both share the same interests. So an advantage is the personal thing. You cannot screw up, because he is your brother. If you are mad, the next day he still is your brother. And

a disadvantage is that my brother and I have a natural communication together. So if we both think it is clear, sometimes other people do not understand. That is a thing which makes it difficult for the whole office and it costs a lot of effort to prevent miscommunication. That is also why we make a lot of models. Just to make sure that it is clear for everyone inside the office.

LI: In the essay about Miesology, the architecture of Mies van der Rohe, making a lot of models was mentioned as well. Could you tell something more about the Miesology and how does this relate to your architectural work?

WE: In fact two different questions. One is that the idea of the model is about what is the architectural statements of the building. What does it perform? The next step is how can you express this? Making series of models ignore a lot and are focussed on one particular thing. The models have no skin, they are only interesting in for instance the connection of the walls. A model is a tool to express that. It is about the physical presence. All the models we make, you look at in a way that it is never complete. It always missing something. It creates a dialogue, which is sometimes about the structure, program or technical issues. But by doing it this way, you immediately come to the architectural decisions you want to make. And Miesology was a different idea. Sometimes as an architect you get tired about the ongoing discussion of solving architectural issues. Program issues or how to mix typologies. With the Miesology you do not think about architecture at that moment, because the architecture of Mies is already there. He and his architecture are in that way, a kind of untouchable. So you look to other things like how towers could meet each other or how typologies meet. And by doing those things only then you start to think about other things, which develops architectural concepts. MGVS: And what about the context of each building. In many of your designs it is more about morphology, but sometimes there is not a conversation between the design and the context. So how important is the context for you in architecture. How do you manage that?

WE: At a certain point the context is not relevant. Sometimes the context is just very bad. In that case you cannot rely on what is next to you. Still there is something as an overall condition in a city. Typological conditions or regulation of certain heights. On this scale it still a kind of an urban playfield. Buildings are not necessary next to each other or have no relations to each other. I truly believe that architecture in the city is a kind of need to have a collective understanding of what is the regulation of the city. Sometimes context it is very relevant, sometimes it is just not. For instance, if you look to the Escher Terrace in the middle of Zurich, it is a high rise building adjacent to an exciting building. The tower has more footprint on the top then on the ground level. Normally it is the opposite. The urban conditions on the ground level were so complicated, that we decided to put the program upstairs. It is a birth of a new typology. It is still communicating to other towers in the city. So there is not a clear recipe.

You need to find out what exactly makes the context. That influences your decision. The adjacent building to the tower has a direct relationship to the urban condition.

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It has such a good position in the city and creates an urban dialogue with the neighbour buildings, even though they do not have anything in common. Suddenly the outside becomes connected to the context. For us that was the decision to keep the original building.

LI: And those kind of decisions must help, because E2A won a lot of competitions. What is the secret?

WE: We lost even more competitions. Actually, competitions is the big drama of architecture. 60% is not going to be realised. When a dentist drills a hole in my tooth, he just does that. Architecture is producing a lot of ideas for the papers. It is really important that it will get exposed, that it is physically there. Another problem in competitions, which is absurd, is that somebody tells you what to do, but you cannot answer directly to him. You have to answer in a different language and he answers in another different language, but you both never met each other. So you need to have an enormous amount of how to understand what somebody really wants when he writes the program. What is the issue about him? When a new client comes to me and asks me to design a house, he comes with a program. I know that program, because I have seen it a hundred times. You need to find out, what is really there. What is the statement and what is really needed. Campus Moos again, most of the propositions contains of a three story building. You could imagine what that would do with the greenery around the building. It would just be gone. So for us it was a decision to say it is a fantastic surrounding, so let us minimise the footprint and make a six story building. Everybody so far thought if you make a school which has more than three floors, you are out of the competition. And then we use a half level or split level in comparison to the outside, so you do not directly know what is the ground level and the first level. So, we do not like to do competitions. It is a drama. You put so much effort in it. And even when you win the competition, it could be either great or a nightmare. It is a kind of blind date. MGVS: Before we started the interview the question already arose why concrete is so popular in Switzerland. Why do you think it is that way?

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WE: It is actually a simple answer. You need to understand the main key to use concrete. It is a liquid material when you pour it. And in Switzerland we have a huge tradition in carpentry work. Those guys are responsible for all the form work, so it becomes usual to work with good materials as well. In Switzerland we have only small or mid-size companies, not the huge enterprises which have another way of production. So, a great tradition of the carpentry and the metal work. If you order something which is 445,5 mm, you will get 445,5 mm and not 456 mm. That structural organisation creates this difference. For instance, in Japan you have a similar situation. They have small and medium size enterprises as well. When you look to the concrete in Japan, even for somebody from Switzerland it is outstanding. And pouring concrete is a medieval technique. In the last centuries it made a huge development. So it is not a technical issue, but more a structural issue, about how the enterprises are structured. Because with large scale enterprises the quality drops down. This is, for instance, the case for Germany. If you want to order a door in Germany you will get three different kinds of doors made by three different huge companies. In Switzerland it goes up to 600 different doors, because they do not have that kind of production line. MGVS: And if you have that much different choices, I suppose the projects from E2A that are realised have different concrete, doors, etc. How do you work with this different structure?

work was incredibly tight. You are only looking to those particular things. Another example is the 90 Degrees or the Triangle Haus, where you have many window holes with different sizes. In that case the form work becomes very difficult to be poured in. With normal form work, you cannot pour it, because you will have air bubbles by the windows holes. So the recipe of the concrete is important and therefore we changed it. It was our first time that we used self-contracting concrete. The portions of self contracting concrete are much smaller in comparison than the normal concrete. During the pouring it gets a temperature of 60 degrees and you can only pour till a maximum of five meter. Because of these things it starts to adapt. Before, we never spoke about the form work, it was never an issue. Actually, there are two parameters. One is the recipe, also what do you pour. And second the form work, in what do you pour it. And those two things you can manipulate. But it is very difficult to change both. Then, it slightly starts to get out of control. So do not experiment with super sophisticated concrete and with super sophisticated form work together, because that is very hard to do. That is the interesting thing of adjusting technology towards a very specific architectural expression.

if you make a school which has more than three floors, you are out of the competition. And then we use a half level or split level in comparison to the outside, so you do not directly know what is the ground level and the first level. So, we do not like to do competitions. It is a drama. You put so much effort in it. And even when you win the competition, it could be either great or a nightmare. It is a kind of blind date. MGVS: Before we started the interview the question already arose why concrete is so popular in Switzerland. Why do you think it is that way?

LI: Does that also mean that the average architect in Switzerland has more knowledge of concrete?

WE: I do not know. Look around here in Switzerland. Not every architect uses concrete. The fact about using concrete is that when you use it, you are done. And that is what I personally like about concrete. There is not someone who is over painting it. So in an early phase you get the architecture, which makes it fantastic to work with. It is structural but also the surface you have in the end, so architectural. And here in Switzerland a lot of work is happening in cladding the faรงades on buildings. Campus Moos again, most of the propositions contains of a three story building. You could imagine what that would do with the greenery around the building. It would just be gone. So for us it was a decision to say it is a fantastic surrounding, so let us minimise the footprint and make a six story building. Everybody so far thought

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WE: In Campus Moos we chose to use ordinary concrete. It is not pigmented, not self contracting, not a fine sand curve. It is actually industrial concrete. So then the form work is very sophisticated. Therefore we used Sperrholz, which is coated plywood. And if you work with plywood as form work the concrete produces a lot of air on the surface and you need to have an idea how to get the air out. Basically that is where the sophistication starts. You only react on that particular thing. And by the Campus Moos the concrete elements have huge spans, which makes it is very important that the form work was incredibly tight. You are only looking to those particular things. Another example is the 90 Degrees or the Triangle Haus, where you have many window holes with different sizes. In that case the form work becomes very difficult to be poured in. With normal form work, you cannot pour it, because you will have air bubbles by the windows holes. So the recipe of the concrete is important and therefore we changed it. It was our first time that we used selfcontracting concrete. The portions of self contracting concrete are much smaller in comparison than the normal concrete. During the pouring it gets a temperature of 60 degrees and you can only pour till a maximum of five meter. Because of these things it starts to adapt. Before, we never spoke about the form work, it was never an issue. Actually, there are two parameters. One is the recipe, also what do you pour. And second the form work, in what do you pour it. And those two things you can manipulate. But it is very difficult to change both. Then, it slightly starts to get out of control. So do not experiment with super sophisticated concrete and with super sophisticated form work together, because that is very hard to do. That is the interesting thing of adjusting technology towards a very specific architectural expression.

LI: Does that also mean that the average architect in

LI: So it is also about an experimental and curiosity thing?

Switzerland has more knowledge of concrete?

WE: I do not know. Look around here in Switzerland. Not every architect uses concrete. The fact about using concrete is that when you use it, you are done. And that is what I personally like about concrete. There is not someone who is over painting it. So in an early phase you get the architecture, which makes it fantastic to work with. It is structural but also the surface you have in the end, so architectural. And here in Switzerland a lot of work is happening in cladding the faĂ§ades on buildings. Working with different layers on the surface of a building. This kind of work is only about hiding some parts. And the appearance of concrete does not change very much. After 25 years the concrete facade still has a nice appearance. The cladding work from other buildings rips off. So in that way concrete is a very sustainable and exciting material. But you need to understand some certain conditions, which is not only about sharp edges and corners. So it is also a strategic decision you take.

LI: You already mentioned the Triangle Haus where you used the self contracting concrete. The connection between the walls and windows fits perfect. Is there not at least one thing or perhaps another project where you thought this could go wrong?

WE: Always there are things going wrong. It is never perfect, but that is also part of the deal. Also working with concrete, for instance in the end you will see a hook. But you accept that. The interesting part of the Triangle Haus was that self contracting concrete is mainly used for on the water. You need to be quick during the pouring, because suddenly the concrete turns from liquid to a hard material. It also gets extremely sharp. It is a one to one detail between the form work and the concrete. So what you have on the inside of the form work you will have on the surface of the concrete but then in a different substance. We also want to pour concrete with glass on the inside of the form work. The surface of the concrete will then get the same appearance as glass. But in that case you have to wait for the right project, the right client.

WE: At this moment we design a lot of concrete buildings and we see a certain development in the way of using concrete. The question, at a certain moment, is what kind of technology will be the next step. And you can adapt that. But that development is a slow process. LI: And what would be that development in the future? WE: I do not know exactly. But I am interested in a massive building, whereby the inside and outside will be the same. The walls which are 1,20 m thick and therefore the thermal problems are solved. So go back to a low tech condition. Architecture has in my opinion a certain high tech development. Sophisticated installations inside of your house. People invest millions into technology behind the building, which is actually absurd. Because first you make the building super tight and afterwards you need technology to ventilate, which is rather stupid. So Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m more interest in eliminating technology. Not only because of the price, but also about the use. At a certain level the technology tells you what to do, which is a very bad moment in architecture when the technology tells the user what to do. I still believe architecture should be done in a way that you decide what you want. I do not like the permanent dictation of technology. It could be done much smarter. If you have it hot inside, you just open a chimney. I think some wrong passes in the building industry moved during the last ten years. For instance the floor ratio could never be the same between the lower and the upper floor. Below, the walls are thicker than above.

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So designing a wall which has an equal size would be smart, but then you get punished that it has not the best economical ratio. Despite the fact you can solve that in a smart way, you still get punished. For instance, Campus Moos has hundreds of cold bridges. A contractor runs out if he hears the word cold bridge, but actually it is not a problem. For more than 200 years we built with cold bridges, the only thing you need is to control it. And for the school building you start to give smart argumentations for the particular purpose of the building. On the location of an outside beam the cold temperature gets to the inside. On that last meter we clad the inside. Sometimes it is a closet, something a ventilation shaft. But after 1,5 meter it is okay. So the building is not a sealed package, it is a kind of an exchange between the outside and the inside. Not only in natural physics, but in program as well. And I think that in architecture that exchange is very important. MGVS: And what about the concrete staircase in Campus Moos? There is some space between the stairs and the connection to the floors. Is it cast or how is it made?

WE: Good question, it is well observed. The staircases and the concrete ring around it were made on the construction site. So it is made with the same concrete. There is a repetition in the staircase, which is made in that way as well. It is built up from the first to the second floor, second to third and so on. It is the same geometry. On the outside the form work was built, including the handrail. This form work was standing next to the house. And separated from the stairs the ring around it was made. So when one part of the stairs was done, it was moved and placed with a crane, then put the ring around it and it started again by making the next one. Basically it is casting on site, but not on site in the building. So that is why you see a ten centimetres distance between the stairs and the ring around it. LI: Most of these students here will do these kind of things in practice. Do you have some advice for those who will be an architect in some years?

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WE: Sometimes you have to decide against your comfort. When you are having it too comfortable in the Netherlands, it is time to leave. Because comfort is a big enemy for innovation. When you go somewhere new, you have fresh eyes. In your comfort zone you have a kind of a ignoring filter. So when you say I would never dare to do that, you just do that and it becomes a great experience. Sometimes saying more yes. Whatever comes say yes, because you will have enough many times to say no. Europe has a great advantage. It is easy to travel and exchange and there are great people. So I would recommend leave your comfort zone. If you get to comfortable, you leave again. LI: Thanks for this nice recommendation. We definitely will travel more now. Thanks you for your time to having this interview!

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COLUMN PROPOSALS

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GROUP NO. 01 JÃ¸rgen Hemesath Koen Coenders Stefan Wijsman Bart van Santen

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COLUMN The design of the column is based on three principles: 1. A visual relationship with the works of E2A 2. Optimizing the strength of the column 3. The column can be conceived of as a scale model of an actual building. In order to make the column as strong as possible it would be ideal to use a solid square or circular column. However, the assignment states that the concrete within the volume of 300x300x800mm, only uses 40% of the space. To meet this restriction, voids have to be created within the standard square column shape. In order to effectuate this, rectangular voids are pushed through the volume at various places. This design step connects to the Opfikon Schule design of E2A where corridors are created within a box-shaped volume. By evolving and optimizing the design consisting of stacked corridors, a ‘Jenga-principle’ emerged. The ‘Jenga-principle’ implies that blocks of same shape and volume are stacked perpendicular to each other. A second connection to the works of E2A becomes clear. In their design of Campus Moos, similar layers are stacked perpendicular to each other. Subsequently, to improve the strength of the column, the general rectangular blocks need adjustment. An arch created to the bottom of the blocks takes away excessive material which can then be used to increase the thickness of the blocks. This increases the strength of the overall column. The final column originated from the work of E2A and can for that reason be seen as a scale model for a building. By modifying the repeating block-like elements, the strength of the column is guaranteed as well. In the end two columns are constructed. The two columns are the inverse of each other, so every column could, as it were, be used as the mould for the other column. To further visualize this principle the ‘common surface’ of the two columns have a different texture than

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the rest of the column’s surface. The column with the least material, will be the column tested for its strength in a compression test.

top evolution of the design of the column

right final column

left final mould

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GROUP NO. 02 Rik Okel Teun Vermeer Tim Steeghs Youri van den Heiligenberg

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COLUMN DESIGN - THREE-FACED COLUMN The design process of this column started with research on various textures that can be created on concrete. Many daily household materials were collected that could be tested with the use in concrete. Whereas, concrete has the properties to be shaped exactly as the textures that are implemented in the moulding, it would be interesting to see the inverse of some these household materials in concrete. The interview with Wim Eckert in Zurich concluded that moulding is very important for the appearance of a concrete structure. Therefore, the chosen textures were each very different, resulting in an easily noticeable contrast between each texture. The concept is derived from a variety of three materials. As a result of the experiment, three textures had extreme and unexpected results. Namely, the use of aluminium foil, bubble foil and a mirror. The aluminium created a

concrete texture created with a mirror

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kind of chemical reaction with the concrete, giving it an impressive colour and effect (see right page). The inverse of the bubble foil was to be expected but what appeared to be very special to this, the shadows are playing between the bubbles (see right page). There was also seen a marked difference in the bubbles with air and the bubbles without air in it. In the variant with the mirror it seemed the concrete received an extra ingredient to it. It was very impressive to see how there was a glaze layer at the surface of the concrete (see below). It had become very smooth and seemed to have taken the properties of a mirror to the concrete.

top concrete texture created with aluminium foil bottom concrete texture created with bubble foil

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Therefore, these three materials were chosen that are going to be implemented in particular shape. Derived from the materials, a triangle best answered for our experiment. A triangular column, as depicted in the scheme on the right, has three sides for three textures. In order to show a transition from these textures, the triangle is rotated 30 degrees from the base towards the heart and from the heart to the top. This results in a kink in the triangle surfaces to create a tight transition. In various designs E2A processed a twist in the structure of their buildings as well. For example, in House B, a rotation of the construction of each floor results in a stable structure, but also in certain viewing direction from inside. Ultimately, this results in the mathematical model with three triangles per elevation of the column. The middle triangle formed the heart of the column and has been given a larger surface area, providing the column additional strength. Not only the aesthetic, but also the structure forces are very important. A triangle is a natural way of transfer of

unique elevations on the same column

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force and can therefore acquire high strength. See the page on the right for the design process through to the final shape of the column. The three selected textures are placed on the faces of the column in such a way that three materials seem to wrap into each other. This not only enhances the rotation of the column, but this also shows the possibilities for the surface of concrete. Due to the rotation, each elevation of the column will display three textures, but each in a different composition (see below). Therefore, each view on the column will be unique, tempting the viewer to walk along with the rotation around the column.

1 - The top side was rotated by 30 degrees, in order to create more attractive shape.

2 - The bottom and top sides are scaled to approach a pyramid-like shape.

3 - Stack the shapes and mirror top part make the twist continuous. Scale to fit the allowed height.

4 - Enlarged footprint for increasing stability.

design process of the columnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shape

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However, the rotation will result in some critical issues within the column. When pouring the column, a mould which is constructed in layers of three centimetres thick foam-plates, will be used. The results of these plates, as shown on right, show that the column in some places will be very slim. Therefore, it will be very interesting to see what the concrete is going to do in this column. The sectional drawings of the column show that it is formed from slim to wide and then proceeds to slightly slimmer again. Due to the fact that the column gets a height of 80 cm, it would be interesting to see how the bubble wrap behaves with the pressure of the concrete in this shape. There has done a study and experiment with bubble wrap on a cube of 15 cm and here the bubble wrap held up well. Also, the facing with aluminium will be interesting, since it is very dependent on the chemical reaction in concrete. It could turn out that at some places in the column, this reaction did not work.

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design sections of the column every three centimetres showing some critical thin points

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GROUP NO. 03 Axel Geurts Maria Gabriella Vaca Sanchez Rutger Klaver Luuk van Ingen

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COLUMN DESIGN According to the assignment the concrete column should have a maximum surface of 300 x 300 mm and a maximum height of 800 mm. Only 40% of this volume should be concrete. The column will be have a pressure test, so in the end the column will break. Due to the particularities of the assignment, we want to make a strong column, but also a column which has a nice appearance. During the concrete experiments before, we explore with different materials fixed on the inside of the mould to investigate the appearance of the concrete and the way how easy the demoulding would be. After the experiments the awareness of how the final shape will be together with the demoulding became essential. One of the experiments broke during the demoulding, because of a fallacy during the making of the mould. Other experiments had very nice different appearances, particular the very smooth surfaces due to glass or plastic sheets are placed to the inside of the mould. To make a strong column, whereby 60% of the volume may not be concrete, brought it to an important challenge. The idea of a column consisting of several elements arose. Those elements create a pile structure to the maximum height. Actually, this structure would easily crack during the pressure test and so the design should exist of one element. Still the pile structure was valuable, because then building the mould and the demoulding would be more easy. It resulted in several designs which contains twisting layers that all became different concrete towers. Not everyone was satisfied with the appearances of these designs. After a lot of discussion, a new design developed which consist of a pile structure of several layers, but now pile up in a random shape. The final design consists of 16 foam board layers with a size of 300 x 300 and a height of 50 mm. Each foam board layer has two identical rectangular openings, which covers 40% of the layer volume. In this way the column will not exists of small concrete parts and prevent

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breaking during the hardens. By pile up these foam layers a random shape arises, whereby the openings will create the concrete tower. Despite the random shape it has, the layers together has also two central points where it forms a massive vertical line of concrete. This creates a better stability for the column, but makes it better practical to pour as well. Sometimes the rectangular shapes overlap each other, so in the end the total volume will never be more than 40% of concrete. Because the inside force during the pouring of the concrete, the foam layers could start to float. Because of that the layers are fixed with glue and on top three beams of plywood are fixed to the mould, to keep high pressure between the foam layers. In this way the final concrete column will be realized in the way it is desired.

column sections

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column proposal

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left cast column right sketch model

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GROUP NO. 04 AleĹĄ Moravec Chunfei Bai Danfeng Zou

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EXPERIMENT In your experiments we focused on contrasts. Heaviness vs. lightness and liquid vs. solid. During our trip to Switzerland we visited E2A, architectural office located in Zurich, where we met Wim Eckert who gave us a really nice speech about concrete. One of the most important things he said is that when they experiment with concrete, they try to change just one out of two parameters so they keep the process under control. Mould or concrete itself. So we proposed two experiments so we can test both parameters, still having in mind our focus on contrasts; heaviness vs. lightness and liquid vs. solid. With the first model we focused on experimenting with concrete itself. The mould had very simple shape (cube) but by adding different objects and layers into the concrete we tested our ideas. We used sand layer to separate two concrete layers in the mould however we would like to create a solid object so we added steel bars to connect those two layers in order to create tension between heavy concrete and subtle steel. Nevertheless we thought that we might get even more out of it so we made good use of the gained experience in our final design proposal. The second model tested the possibility of capturing concrete in liquid condition hence we experimented with mould. The mould material to be exact. In stead of using strong, tabular material like plywood we had to come up with something different to achieve our goal. So we came up with fabric. This raised a question, how to shape the mould? Right now I can say that we were naive before the experiment. In the experiment we made a wooden frame in which we stretched fabric in order to make a simple cubic mould. Everything had worked out well, just until we poured the concrete in. Gravity and enormous hydrostatic pressure were against us.

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lines carrying tension

cube-like concrete object

2nd layer of concrete separation layer - sand

1st layer of concrete

top liquid condition experiment bottom layering experiment

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FINAL DESIGN Both ideas which we tested on your experimental objects were so strong and we liked then so much that we decided to make two proposals in order to make good use of knowledge gained during those two experiments. The assignment was to design a column, using concrete as a load-bearing material. The first proposal was based on your materials and layering experiment but we had to consider that concrete has to be the load-bearing material hence the gap shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be horizontal but vertical. In case the gap would be horizontal then the load-bearing material would be steel instead of concrete. This decision had major impact on the casting process, we couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t cast our column in vertical position as other groups did. We had to cast it in horizontal position therefore one side of the column is not as beautifully smooth as three others. The second proposal developed the idea, which focused on capturing concrete in liquid condition. It was very important to make a mould, which capable of facing the enormous hydrostatic pressure. Basically the question was, how to keep fabric in shape so it can face the pressure? The answer is by tension. Elements that are good at carrying tension are wires therefore we focused on conoids - ruled surfaces.

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layering

box

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maximal volume

tension wires

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frame

design development

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Because of casting the column in horizontal position, one side is not as beautiful as the other sides... It might be also interesting to think about replacing the steel rods with concrete. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s real challenge for the future!

final concrete column

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It would need more tension to keep the fabric in shape, it might be better to use steel wires in stead of string. Next time...

final concrete column

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EXHIBITION During a hands-on workshop, students in teams of 3/4 designed and made a 800mm high column which will be tested by applying 10.000 kN of vertical force to it. The column needed to be hollow, 60 per cent air and 40 per cent concrete. Part of the challenge of the workshop was to explore the architectural and structural potential of the columnexperiment, translating it to the scale of a tall building, this all based upon our analyses of E2A Architects Zurich. The architectural expression and the structural capacities of the structure are of equal importance for workshop.

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exhibition arrangement

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the views...

TITLE: SWISS CONCRETENESS SUBTITLE: BUILDING ANALYSIS AND CONCRETE EXPERIMENT WRITTEN BY: ir. Jan Schevers Jørgen Hemesath Koen Coenders Stefan Wijsman Bart van Santen Rik Okel Teun Vermeer Tim Steeghs Youri van den Heiligenberg Axel Geurts Maria Gabriella Vaca Sanchez Rutger Klaver Luuk van Ingen Aleš Moravec Chunfei Bai Danfeng Zou PHOTOS BY: Koen Coenders Rik Okel Aleš Moravec Teun Vermeer E2A office GRAPHIC DESIGN - LAYOUT: Aleš Moravec FIST EDITION 2016, 268 PAGES BOOK NR. 001