G hen t N e w School of A r chit ect ure 2019 n mjr sc hoen m a k ers
// prologue
In troducti on This little booklet is a summary of the process, designing an architecture school in an existing building in the city of Ghent, Belgium. The design is made under guid ance of architectural firm De Vinck Vylder Talieu, based in Ghent. The booklet shows a selection of the most important images, telling the story of the design. The story of the Ghent, New School for Architecture. NMJR Schoenmakers, juli 2013
01 // the design
01 / floorplan, second floor
sl e ep , st u d e n t s
d e si g n
m eet ing
literature
mode l
sl e ep , st u d e n t s
des ign
51 N 4 E
co o k i n g
cof f ee
d e si g n
des ign
d e si g n
concent r a t ing
conver s a t ion
T he f loorpla n The architecture school is situated on the second floor of the building at the Ketelvest in Ghent. There are three inner courtyards. The floorplan is one open area. The furniture gives direction for the usage of the space. A large variety of different a ctivities can take place in the same area, providin g interaction, dialogue and inspiration.
XDGA
01 / axonometric view
The struc ture The floor plan is divided into different zones by the use of a grid of columns. Space for walking, gently transforms into space for working, sitting or eating. The more closed and private areas are enclosed by glass walls, visible in pink. They are places to rest or to concentrate.
01 / sections
The sec tion Situated on the second floor, the school has a nice view on its surroundings. Between the facade and the floor is a large area: a four storey high arcade. The concrete floorslab on the second floor has a parapet, providing a balcony.
01 / elevations
T he f a ca de In the current situation the arches of the facade are filled with glass and with dark panels, giving the building a unfriendly look. Dark, closed. By removing them, the facade is allowed to show its possibilities and its true beauty. A facade made out of arches of a colossal order. It could be an arcade. Classical. Monumental. A palace. Welcoming .
02 // funct ional concept
02 / the school
The sc hool An architecture school in 2019. What would it look like? Open. Transparent. Freedom. A place were ideas are born. A place for students. A place were they can eat, drink and work together. A place which evokes social interaction. Getting inspired, helping each-other, talk about design, laughing, working, concentrating, hiding. A stoa of the 21st century.
02 / spatial structure
The struc ture of spa c e The plan of the school consists of one continuous open space, giving room for the different functions. Within this space all the activities of the school take place: working, walking, eating, drinking, sleeping, relaxing, talking. For more privacy there are some closed rooms created. All together the functional programma has a free form within the structure provided by the columns. Like a system board.
02 / connection of functions
T he f unc tions The school has three main types of spaces: space for the students, space for the teachers (the architectural offices) and space where they can come together and interact with each other. In diagram the spaces for the students are orange, for the teachers green and the shared space red. Shared functions are the coffee-corner, the kitchen and some lounge areas. All the dif ferent kind of spaces are mixed trough the floorplan, leading to interaction between students and teaches.
03 // architectural concept
03 / current facade
The curren t f a ca de Closed, rigid, cold. But with potential. Can beauty be found in this design? Why looks this facade so strange in its surroundings? What is the connection with the public area? Has this monumental facade something to do with the interior? How is the inner space connected with the outer space, and what roll plays the facade? A lot of questions. Intriguing.
03 / arcade
T he a rca de The current facade forms the border between inside and outside, between public and private. Strict, rigid, cold, hard. Separation The arcade lets the outside come closer to the building. It is a more gradually transition between the inside of the building and its surroundings. The building can give something back to the city, to its people Friendly, soft, gradually, shelter. Interaction.
03 / hole & point
Lucio Fontana, Concetto Spaziale , 1953
NMJR Schoenmakers, Grid of columns, 2013
Th e h ole
The point
The work by Lucio Fontana consists of a series of points: small holes in the canvas. Were first the blanc canvas was one open space, now it is divided into lines. The holes reveal the underlaying background, giving the work more depth. he surface is connected to a large space, an infinite space.
In one of the first stadia of design, this little sketch was the result. A piece of cardboard is divided into lines, by using a series of points. This results in spaces, some wide, some dense. Every point has a flowing space around it.
A spatial concept
The point is a column. A column as a divider of space. A new spatial concept.
03 / column & border
Th e colu m n
T he border
One column is a point. Open.
The facade is the border for the floorplan.
A few columns make an gallery. Permeable. Multiple columns make a wall. Closed but not sealed.
A line of columns is the border for a room. Two sheets of metal are the border for a column. The same concept, different scale.
03 / interfering structures
The stoa Columns divide a space. Grid, structure, order. Silence. A continuous open space, total freedom. Walking from one room to the other, no boundaries. Social interaction. A marketplace.
03 / broken floor
The f loors The facade is a layer, enclosing the inner space. By breaking the floors away from the facade, they become two different things. The space between the facade and the parapet of the floorslab, can be used as an outdoor-space or balcony.
03 / building & city
T he sc hool & the city A school should interact with the city. For an architecture sch ool it is essential to interact with the city. Students stroll around the building, get a coffee or lunch in the area and get inspiration form the city life. The arcade provides this interaction. It’s a area where local people can find shelter for the rain or where stu dents can talk to each other.
04 // interior concept
04 / columns
the public column
the private column
or
/ / /
public = transparent = light light emitting closed sides + translucent sides
/ /
private = closed = personal cabinets cabinets , lockers, personal cabinets, bookcases (‘apothekerskast’)
steel sheet 3mm with corners / opaque glass 4mm /
/ steel sheet 3mm with corners / multiplex wood 16 mm
700 mm
kit /
/ kit / 800 mm
800 mm
T he column s The space is divided by columns. They are the most important architectural element. They make rooms and divide the space into areas for working, walking and relaxing. There two kind of columns: one type for spaces to walk trough and one for closed spaces. One gives light, the other absorbes light. Public and private.
04 / furniture
working
eating
.04 chair, Maarten van Severen, White
Chair One, Konstatin Grcic, white
partly clear glass, used for the dividing glass walls
Table One, Konstatin Grcic, white
relaxing
JL 10, Space Lounge Chair, Jehs+Laube, White shell, coloured upholstery
The f urn iture The furniture used is contemporary and has clean, graphical lines. It has a kind of futuristic feel to it. This fits well within the concept of the New Architecture School: looking towards the future and working and learning in a flexible way.
04 / materials
black metal panels, used for the columns
clear glass, used for the outern glass walls
grey oak wood, used in the ‘private’ columns
partly clear glass, used for the dividing glass walls
opaque glass / plexiglass, used for the ‘public’ columns
T he ma teria ls There are two kind of materials used: heavy closed materials and light, translucent materials. Earth and sky. The floor is made of concrete. The ceiling is stripped to the unfinished raw ceiling, with visible piping etc. The columns are made of two sheets of black metal, filled with wood or with opaque glass (light-emitting). The rooms are made of glass, both clear and partially opaque.
04 / glass walls
T he gla ss w a lls The interior space is divided by columns. Columns can form an arcade or, when standing close to each other, they become a wall. To make inner spaces for more private function, meetings, concentrating and such, there are more closed rooms needed. These are made by using glass walls. These glass walls are in the centre opaque, but towards the floor and the ceiling transparent. They enclose the space only were it’s needed the most: on eye level. Now you see me, now you don’t.
04 / the interior 1
The ha llw a y View from an closed space towards the hallway. Privacy is created by the small distance between the columns and the use of opaque glass. To be seen or not to be seen.
04 / the interior 2
T he courtya rd Standing in the hallway and looking towards an courtyard. The trees in the courtyard are visible. The columns are of the closed type: oak wood on the inner side of the column. In the back the inner wall of the courtyard is stripped to its bare walls, leaving a rough surface.
04 / night views
The sc hool a t n ight Night-time, mystery. Who is walking there? The columns can guide you. Just follow the light. The school is still open in the evening and night. Students have a place where they can sleep, if needed. The school is like a city, a city that never sleeps.
05 // visualisation
05 / views
T he a rca de Long vertical lines, going form top to bottom. The facade is an arcade. An cage. You are behind bars. Standing on the parapet of the second floor, you have a view to the outside, to the water of the Ketelvest.
05 / presentation
T he f in a l presen ta tion For the final presentation I’d made five poster on A1 papersize. On the table a selection of models: conceptual models, urban scale model (1:500), experimental room models ( 1:50), real room models (1:50), etc. A large quantity of work.
// epi l ogu e
f in ish This is the final page of this booklet. The finish of this project This design studio was organised by DVVT Architects, as a part o f the MSC2, organised by the department In terior at the TUDelft. Reflecting on this project, I can say, I’ve learned a lot. Especially the way of looking towards architecture and the way of representing it. It was a whole field of new experiences for me. During the project, I experimented with a kinds of ways of representing: sketches by hand, diagrams, photo shops, digital models, real models on different scales, handmade diagrams, a movie, booklets, etc. This final booklet is a selection of these experiments. Although a project is never finished, it’s a continuous course of polishing, altering and redesigning, I think considering the time set for this project, my design can give a clear impression of the vision I had when I started this Special Interior Project. My goal was to tell the story of my design as clear as possible. I hope I’ve succeeded and the reader finds joy in reading the booklet, as much as I have joyed making this project. NMJR Schoenmakers, juli 2013