ME : mutual encounter
This building is not a purely static entity. It is designed to function as an architectural centre and an archaeological centre, and to float on water. The grid-like organisational form is an accessible structure that presents itself in a fragmentable and dividable state. The mobius loop is the central theme of this concept. Being a component of transformation, the mobius form is assembled to respond to its various functions. In this building it serves as the major passageway leading to the different spaces and levels, replacing a standard stairway. Due to its mathematical properties, this form is unending, which allows the passageway to run both upwards and downwards as it twists round the inside and outside of the central core. The passageway is also able to function as an exhibition hall, in that the mobius divides into two channels (in the unfurled as well as in the enclosed mode), and each can readily adopt its specific function, one for each of the two centres, while together forming one building. The central core consists of a publicly accessible space, with another portion given over to administrative functions. A cinema and assembly hall are situated in the openable roofspace. Due to the divisible character of the mobius form, the building can be split into two halves, to create extra spaces for exhibitions. In that 8-part form, the unfurled mode, the passageways continue to serve the same function; connections are made between the different spaces as well as between the different buildings. The sanitary unit is a separate floating structure that can be plugged into the outside of the building at many different points, to suffice as a temporary arrangement, when and where needed. Multifunctionality is exploited in this project, to create a building that can satisfy a vast array of permutations.
Mutal Encounter was submitted as part of a competition for a building that was to be situated on the eastern shore of the Weerwater, a lake in Almere (Amsterdam), and it was important that it be possible to relocate the building to other parts of the same waterway as necessary. The total surface area could not exceed 500m2.
Credits:
Carl De Smet