ARCHITECTURE Portfolio
Sophie Lok Schoonderloostraat 155E, 3024TT ROTTERDAM +31 6 46 25 56 66 sophie.lok@hotmail.com
01. ELECTIVES Identity and Intervention
AMBITION Connecting Past and Present The first experience with the practice of heritage was regarding the transformation of a former church to a youth hostel. The focus of this project was connecting past and present. On the one hand, the past was largely represented by the architecture of the building, which is typical for its former function. Its essential qualities, the introvert character, the stirdy abutments, the embelished exterior of the church, the exposed woodstructure of the interior, the large open space of the church hall and traces of past transformations in the walls, were to be taken into account in the new design. On the other hand the public character of the future use, the youth hostel, was asking for more a more open character of the plynth. The aim of the project was thus to find a balance between past and present.
CONTEXT
! CONTACT
COMFORT
CONCEPT Context, Contact, Comfort For the design, three themes were developed to form the guidelines for the transformation of the building. The first one, ‘context’, was introduced to secure the preservation of, and emphasis on the essential qualities of the existing building, so the new building would still be showing its former use. The second one, ‘contact’, was introduced to evoke the open character of the new function, pressing for opening of the closed plynth. The last one, ‘comfort’, was introduced to move away from the unpleasant interior climate of both the former and future funtion, which includes measures to improve climate issues and privacy issues that are often apparent in church halls as well as in youth hostels.
DESIGN the Youthtube In the design, the most eminent transformation is the opening of plynth, in order to make visual contact between exterior and interior on street level possible. Meanwhile, the monumental facade elements are preserved with this transformation. In the interior, the existing wooden structure and ceilings are emphasized by creating an open view. To make the open space suitable for its future use, a platform was introduced, provided with all necessary istallations for both climate control and the sustining functions such as lavatories and showers. Cubicles were designed as individual elements, which were playfully placed in the open space upon the platform, connecting each one of them to their own air inlet and exhaust. In doing so, not only a hihger level of privacy, but also a higher level of climate comfort for the visitor is created.
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SOPHIE LOK Schoonderloostraat 155E, 3024TT ROTTERDAM +31 6 46 25 56 66 sophie.lok@hotmail.com