LETTERENHUIS
MARIUS MELISSAS P R O J E C T
L E T T E R E N H U I S
LETTERENHUIS
REFLECTIONPORTFOLIO BACHELORTHESIS, 2022 MARIUS MELISSAS FACULTY OF DESIGN SCIENCES UNIVERSITY OF ANTWERP MUTSAARDSTRAAT 29, 2000 ANTWERPEN TEL +32 265 41 11 FAX +323 265 44 20 MARIUS MELISSAS COPYRIGHT © 2022
ASSIGNMENT The Letterenhuis museum is looking for a new breath of air through a new design and organisation of their groundfloor. Especially the entryhall, we were asked to come up with interesting solutions and to create a new situation or concept for them. These concepts would be usefull for them as inspiration. The purpose is to create a temporary solution for five years, the time they need to come up with definitive ideas or plans of restructuring the entire museum. An important factor in the assignment is to keep in mind to use sustainable materials or at least think about the project in a sustainbale way and find solutions surrounding this aspect
CONTENT
WEEK 1 : INTRODUCTION WEEK 2 : CONTINUATION ON ORGANISATION WEEK 3 : LAST WEEK’S REMARKS WEEK 4 : WORKING OUT THE DESIGN WEEK 5 : ESTABLISHING CHOICES ANDNEW MATERIALS AND IDEAS WEEK 6 : LAST DESICIONS
REFLECTION PORTFOLIO
INTRODUCTION
convent by Dom Hans Van Der Laan, the idea of bringing in the light and creating an open feeling. courtesy of : Dom Hans Van Der Laan
So our purpose here is to create a clear organization in terms of function and separation of functions. So that we get a natural circulation flow throughout the entire floor.
First ideas on the organisation of functions We started off by trying to understand what we were each seeing for the place since that we were just put together in the group. So, during the first days the main aim was to get to understand each other and the way we think and design. Luckily, we had kind of the same visions and ideologies about architecture, art and design which made it easy to come forth with our ideas since we didn’t really have to think about adapting them before presenting them to each other. We quickly came upon a few clear first ideas and elements that are some of the main problems that the current situation presents. These are light, space and fluidity. The three of the m go hand in hand and the problems they face are related to the three elements we wanted to tackle. The main problem is that there isn’t any light in the entry hall and that the circulation is unclear because of the fragmented floorplan.
To ensure this we split up the building in three the old house on Minderdbroedersrui, the main entry hall and then the building that houses the courtyard in the center. The entry hall would host functions such as a reception desk, bookshop. The central building would host the cafeteria, coworking, temporary and permanent exhibition. The house would host the study rooms with an option of showing some permanent pieces. The entry hall poses the greatest challenge regarding the light, fragmentation and circulation. Thus, we want to open this space up to make it alive again by bringing in the natural light that is now blocked by small rooms. This would open up the floorplan and create a new livelier situation in the entry hall. Making it an attractive space to step into and intrigue people without having to make too many constructions or creating new installations. As once said by Tadao Ando the emptiness of the architectural space is crucial because it allows for movement, namely the movement of the user. This is an important idea for us.
WEEK 1 - 05
CONTINUATION ON ORGANISATION
It became clear that we aren’t allowed to use the house on the minderbroedersrui so this changes a lot in the organization we planned out. It means that the organization shifts to the central part hosting: the cafeteria, coworking, silent room and the permanent exhibition. The entry hall will host the reception desk, the bookshop, the temporary exhibition as well as lockers and sanitary. The idea for the entry hall is to open everything up to get a lot of light inside and create a space which isn’t as cramped as it is nowadays. Another thing we wanted to try out was to pull the stairs towards the columns so that we get a clear difference between the income section and the section that leads towards the inner courtyard.
installation by Richard Serra, amplifying the idea of bringing simple monolithic elemnts in a soace which will mark it. courtesy of: Richard Serra
sketch idea bookshop and reception desk
WEEK 2- 06
LAST WEEK’S REMARKS
After the meeting with the teacher last week it became apparent that we have to stop working on an architectural scale and start working around independent elements that don’t directly interfere with the architecture/structure of the building too much. However, the walls in the entry hall can still be opened up since it’s the only way to pull enough light inside. So, this means that the foyer would be surrounded by glass to create a large foyer that hosts the wardrobe as well.
WEEK 3- 07
LAST WEEK’S REMARKS
NEW CHANGES
New research on the morfilogy of the entry hall and the rythm of the structure around the inner courtyard.
We changed the stairs because it was too large of an interference since we aren’t really allowed to change the architectural aspects of the building. We must keep in mind that it’s a temporary design which makes large interferences uninteresting since these will only create more problems on the long term or even construction wise. The organization around the courtyard was changed as well, we put the silent room in the far-right upper corner of the zone because this way we seclude the function that hosts the activity for which you need the most privacy. The café will come next to the entry towards the courtyard.
texture of rammed earth
Material wise we decided to look and use at bc materials as well moso bamboo, bc for the flooring and plasters as well as maybe the permanent exhibition and moso for the bookshop.
WEEK 3- 08
WORKING OUT THE DESIGN
New research on the morfilogy of the entry hall and the rythm of the structure around the inner courtyard.
The main aim now this week was to try to work out everything we had decided upon till now for the preliminary jury. First of all the entry hall with the reception and the bookshop which create the transition between the income and the main entry hall. By putting a wall element in the left section of the entry hall, in prolongation with the columns we’re able to separate the sanitary and wardrobe functions from the circulation and other functions in the entry area. The wall element serves as a separation but as a display as well. It allows us to display temporary exhibitions or even just as a tool for information about the museum and what it offers.
First model
WEEK 4- 09
WORKING OUT THE DESIGN
The zones around the courtyard are separated in four: a permanent exhibition, the coworking, the café section and then in the furthest corner the silent working spaces. We chose to put the café close to the access to the courtyard. The coworking is a semi silent/social zone where you’re able to work in a somewhat more private situation but still allows you to have social discussions in group. The permanent exhibition would be in rammed earth, which are big blocks that can serve as display installation for some of the pieces in the collection. It serves as a passage towards the silent working space as well and therefore creating a transition between social and private atmospheres as well.
WEEK 4- 10
ESTABLISHING CHOICES
Following the remarks that were given last week we diced to make sure that our motives and arguments wer well established so that wde could use them as a base to prove the designs. The rammed earth was one of the biggest issues last week and the teachers didn’t really understand why we wanted to use such a material since it’s quiet expensive and labor intensive to install so we decided to change the material to eco-boards or boards made from agricultural waste which are as strong as multiplex or mdf.
New research on the morfilogy of the entry hall and the rythm of the structure around the inner courtyard.
WEEK 5- 11
NEW MATERIALS AND IDEAS
Following other critiques on our material choice we found other materials such as the rammed earth floor that can serve as flooring in the area surrounding the courtyard. Furthermore, we’re using bamboo multiplex for the bookshop and the wall element in the entry hall area. We’ll reuse board material for the nonstructural walls which will be placed as separation, and plastering these with a lime, loam plaster by bc materials who also make the rammed earth flooring. Vintage furniture is the best choice for the working areas and bookshop, it’s a bit ridiculous to bring in even more material into the project and there is a ton of secondhand furniture that’s waiting to be used. Now that we know that the teacher is happy with the ideas we have we can finally get to working things out in details and start putting everything on plan. We’ll have to start by designing the structures we implement into the building such as the wall that separates the sanitary from the rest of the entry. Materialization is important as well from now on since we have to know exactly how things will be worked out. Example of a of rammed earth floor. Courtesy of: BCarchitects
WEEK 5- 12
LAST DESICIONS
Last moodboard with materials used.
The materials are kept to a minimum as well as to reduce the inflow of different materials in the project, as said before we reuse the mdf in the new walls that we’re building to separate the silent room from the rest of the functions. The reception desk and the materials of the bookshop will be used in the new reception area to be more precise the desk and a piece of furniture to place the books on. The permanent exposition will be built out of bamboo board materials and will have as fuction to showcase a variety of pieces such as statues, posters, books, etc.
WEEK 6- 13
LAST DESICIONS
We’ve decided to go with vintage furniture that reflects the spirit of the project. So on one hand it’s important for us to implement the idea of it being a place where you work and study so we started looking for large tabletops that allow people to work together in the coworking and separating these with plants because of their acoustic characteristics the only problem we faced here is that the teacher found this too much. For the cafe we’re going with small work tables of the likes of Prouvé and Nakashima. In the silent room we decide to place old school desks since there are so many on the second hand market. The chairs as well will be just normal old-school industrial school chairs, look-a-likes of the Friso Krames industrial chairs. This will reflect the minimal, rustic, monastic feel and atmosphere we want. It’s supposed to be place that doen’t impose too much but where you can just focus on the things at hand.
floorplan imagery for jury
WEEK 6- 14
LAST DESICIONS
situation of the bookshop with materials rendered
WEEK 6- 15
LAST DESICIONS
Cafe close up
WEEK 6- 15
LAST DESICIONS
Vaste expo
WEEK 6- 15
LAST DESICIONS
Coworking
WEEK 6- 15