A-Dirk Durrer

Dirk Durrer House of the Senses A safe harbour for the deaf & blind

Roelof Hartplein 310 (06)53385695 (app) dirkdurrer@gmail.com https://nl.linkedin.com/pub/dirk-durrer/5/48a/9ab

Amsterdam Academy of Architecture Graduation Projects 2014-2015 Architecture

Architecture

Dirk Durrer House of the Senses A safe harbour for the deaf & blind

Introduction It must become a ‘House of the Senses’, which is also available to deaf-blind people and blind people. Hearing, seeing, smelling, feeling and tasting can also be examined and treated there. The question is how you can play on the senses by means of architecture. By switching off one of the senses, you rely even more on the others. One sense functioning badly can be compensated for by another sense. Furthermore, the choice of material can be influenced by touch and smell.

Fascination If you are deaf, you do not hear and speech does not develop after birth. If the speech does actually develop, this is very difficult to understand. How is it possible to learn how to talk if you do not hear your own voice and cannot correct it. A deaf person who can talk is like a blind painter who paints a landscape.

Deaf space Deaf people have a strong sense of community and often feel connected with a building. The space that exists can give a good feeling. Light is necessary to be able to see the place where we live. How is light and space formed? What are concept and space made up of? What is necessary in order to understand the building and to navigate one’s way there? Openness means no boundaries. Let the space flow through the building. You must feel at ease everywhere and be able to see each other in the building You must also be able to have a private discussion.

You must be able to walk through the building easily, but there must also be surprises and it must be possible to organise different things at the same time. A staircase offers the opportunity to see others through the open space.

Inspiration Space that consists of free-flowing circular movements is linked to the invented anthropological term ‘maluma’ and is the soft, flowing essence of deaf language and culture. Deaf people can see each other better in a semi-circle opposite each other. ‘Takete’ is the opposite of ‘maluma’ and is a rigid, sharp and angular aesthetic.

Graduation date 22 06 2015

Commission members Chris Scheen (mentor) Machiel Spaan Jeroen Spee

Additional members for the examination Ira Koers Micha de Haas

Dirk Durrer

Tailor-made area: from far away during the day.

Tailor-made area: from far away in the evening.

Architecture

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Situation: head of the Java Island.

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Location: public area and semi-public area.

Location: recreational activities.

Location: concept.

Location: orientation in the evening.

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Dirk Durrer

Accessibility: closed mass.

Accessibility: view.

Accessibility: corridor and main axis.

Accessibility: public and private.

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Section: 3D Section.

Architecture

Corridor: deaf people can see each other and communicate.

Materialisation: sensory experience, see.

Dirk Durrer

Plan: ground floor

begane grond 1:200

Plan: fourth floor

4e verdieping 1:200

Section + facade: cross section + west facade.

dwarsdoorsnede + westgevel 1:100

Amsterdam Academy of Architecture

Architects, urbanists and landscape architects learn the profession at the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture through an intensive combination of work and study. They work in small, partly interdisciplinary groups and are supervised by a select group of practising fellow professionals.

There is a wide range of options within the programme so that students can put together their own trajectory and specialisation.

With the inclusion of the course in Urbanism in 1957 and Landscape Architecture in 1972, the Academy is the only architecture school in the Netherlands to bring together the three spatial design disciplines under one roof.

Some 350 guest tutors are involved in teaching every year. Each of them is a practising designer or a specific expert in his or her particular subject. The three heads of department also have design practices of their own in addition to their work for the Academy. This structure yields an enormous dynamism and energy and ensures that the courses remain closely linked to the current state of the discipline.

The courses consist of projects, exercises and lectures. First-year and second-year students also engage in morphological studies. Students work on their own or in small groups. The design

projects form the backbone of the syllabus.

On the basis of a specific design assignment, students develop knowledge, insight and skills.

The exercises are focused on training in those skills that are essential for recognising and solving design problems, such as analytical techniques, knowledge of the repertoire, the use of materials, text analysis, and writing. Many of the exercises are linked to the design projects.

The morphological studies concentrate on the making of spatial objects, with the emphasis on creative process and implementation. Students experiment with materials and media forms and gain experience in converting an idea into a creation.

During the periods between the terms there are workshops, study trips in the Netherlands and abroad, and other activities. This is also the preferred moment for international exchange projects. The Academy regularly invites foreign students for the workshops and recruits wellknown designers from the Netherlands and further afield as tutors.

Graduates from the Academy of Architecture are entitled to the following titles: Architect, Master of Science; Urbanist, Master of Science and Landscape Architect, Master of Science.