2009 amsterdam centre for contemporary art project

Carolina [email protected]

Amsterdam Centre for Contemporary Art ProjectProject 4- Third Year

Introduction

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Carolina SaludesCentre for Contemporary Art Project

Project 4-Third Year

Understanding a city, its psychology, its movement, is lie understanding the theory of cha-os. Except, as happens with the theory of chaos, some patterns do repeat themselves inspite of the lack of control. As students we were asked to grab those patterns in the middle of

the chaos and sew them on to an architectural proposal that will make sense by itself and on its site. This projec involves the logistics of the trip to Amsterdam, the culture shock

or the lack of it and a much broader understanding of the meaning of Architecture.

Mapping Amsterdam

With:Claudia Caneva

Riddhi ParasrampuriaMatthew Mehrdad

Eirini ChristofidouFelicia Vocke

Mapping Amsterdam

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When encountered with the big task of mapping Amsterdam, we decided to first ask ourselves the question: ‘What defines the Dutch character?’ This starting point would encourage us to find a methodology that would not just map the architecture but the people of Amsterdam.

We decided that the first step towards knowing Amsterdam and the Neth-erlands better would be by reading about the History of Amsterdam. How-ever, soon afterwards we realised that books were not going to give us all the answers, and that we had to invent a method that would give us faithful information on real Amsterdam. We wanted to scratch the sru-face and get to the core of why the whole world admires the Dutch and if that prefect image reflected reality.



HIstory of Amsterdam

Trading tradition The NEtherlands have a hugue tradition of trading. In fact, it was what made them an economic power in the first place, back in the 17th century. This reflects not only in the economy (amount of imports and exports, and having Amsterdam as one of the biggest harbours in the world) but especially in the character of the Dutch. Having made business for centuries with people of different religion, ethnic and background has made them extremely open-minded and liberal.

Money The Dutch have a reputation for being careful with money, which is reflected in Dutch architec-ture, extremely functional. Also, associated to the tradition of trading, money was the means through which Holland, but especially Amsterdam, earned their freedom. Also, the jewish population being very high up until WWII, there was and still is a very strong bank system.

Calvinism Although Dutch people come across as the least religious people in europe, the influence of calvinism is quintessential to understand the Dutch mind. Not showing off one’s money, being open and honest about one’s house (hence the big blindless windows), treating everyone with the same cordial-ity, etc. are all aspects cast in the DNA of a country that had to fight even for its own religion. However all this, there are no traditional religious moral ties that stop them from making bald deci-sions.

Independence Amsterdam quite literally payed to have its freedom, and this has left the people of amsterdam wtih a rooted feeling of independence even within the Netherlands. It is not a habit to ask for permission to do anything and Amsterdam’s contemporary architecture is yet another proof that nothing seems totally impossible in Amsterdam.

MApping Amsterdam

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Drawing from all the information we gathered, we felt that the best tool we could use to map the city and the people of amsterdam was the bycicle.

Although it may seem like a very typical object, it holds in it some very important clues to understanding Dutch culture. Because it is the most widely used means of transport, everyone can have an opinion on whether they like it or not. It also reflects Dutch people’s care with money, as most bycicles in the street would be run-down and a bit rusty. But most importantly for us, it offered us the oportunity of joining the sociologic part of our research but also of physically mapping Amsterdam,

We decided that the best solution when you want to know about a city, is to ask its inhabitants. Therefore we developed a stand-ard set of questions, all related either to the bike or the city of Amsterdam, to as wide a range of people as possible. In one of the questions we would ask them to point out which route they fol-lowed to get to and from work. WE split up in groups of twoa dn distributed ourselves throughout the city. The buildings we went to were: - The library- The main train station- The University- The Zoo- a shopping centre- A popular neighbouerhood (Jordaan)

We were surprised by some of the results, especially the amount of foreign people living in Amsterdan we bumped into. They also used bike and were happy to answer our questions.

When we had everything collected, we traced over a map all the routes that we were told, and tried to find mathing points. It was easy, and we soon found at least three big areas in which a lot of routes crossed. This meant these people went through places in common, but it didnt necessarily mean they stopped at them. In Dutch culture, there is nothing in between route A and route B, so there is no enjoyment of whatever you find on your way to your destination. Our proposal of mapping ended in surprising results. For example, and although the routes were not marked precisely, Hermitage was highlighted as one of the areas with the most passing by. However, when visting the place, there is no sense of welcome



The black lines represent the bycicle routes, and the shaded area is where bycicles most go through but never stop.

The Site

Site Analysis

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Old part of the city. Still within the old 18th century bound-aries of the city.

Newer part of the city (in this area 19th century). There is a very noticeable change in the height of buildings and in road sizes. The site is effectively in beteen two worlds, the new amsterdam an the Old Amsterdam.



Site Plan at 1:1000

The Rijskmuseum, the National Gallery of Holland. It marks a very steep change of scale. It is viible from far and is a true symbol of Dutch Painting.

Site Analysis

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Site Analysis

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Amsterdam People + Architecture


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‘.. we can’t stop the flow of images for analytical observation. INstead, we feel it like a swimmer feels the water against their skin’

Juhani Pllasmaa, ‘The eyes of the skin’


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The city is a chaotic jungle of bycicles, trams, cars and people. Likewise, the canals, filled with boats and boathouses, are a never-stopping source of movement and dynamism. It looks, there-fore, as if the only estatic elements of the city were the build-ings, like walls of a maze, glazing down at the endless swarm of locals and tourists.



Drawings of the area around the site showing the flow of traffic against the stability of the buildings. This can also be applied to the canals that surround the site.

Site Analysis

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Graphic representation of ‘the Dutch mind’.



In the same way the buildings appear to be the only static element in the city, the Dutch mentality can be described in these terms. a nation known for its liberalism and bold legal system, it seems almost impossible to pick up what is the secret to such a healthy society. It is not a society ruled by old catholic moral principles or by a fierce belief in politics. The ability to make money , common sense and the aknowledgement that Holland is a small country are very clearly three of the ‘buildings’ that mantain the stability of Dutch society. With such strong pilars, there is space for chaos, marihuana, prostitues and essentially everything that would seem morally acceptable in a differ-ent country. It is the society of the ‘controlled chaos’

First conceptual model for the cultural centre. It translates the social and urban message into a specific design strategy.

The challenge of following this idea would be to try to translate as accurately as possible the spirit of ‘controlled chaos’ that dominates Amsterdam and the Netherlands. The first conceptual model was an early attempt at translating those sociology concepts into architectural concepts.

Amsterdam + The World of Art


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It has been said for decades that contemporary art is in crisis. However, when we look at the History of Art, it always seemed to be in crisis. The role of the artist is not to reflect what is already there, but to envisage what will be there, or even what should be there. The artist always works at the edge of their own knowledge, challengind themselves to penetrate in the most remote depths of our soul.Of course, the artist needs to sustain themselves by selling and promoting their art. In a society so driven by publicity and expecattion, it is hard to mantain the interest of the public, and therefore of mantaining oneself as an artist. In recent years, various projects have emerged to help the young artist in the pursue of their career. These, like the ‘OXO TOwer’ in London, often consist of subsidised buildings that are converted into small studios with a low rent. They work there for a specific period of time and then have to leave to free space for others.As is developed in the following pages, Amsterdam is the perfect laboratory for new formulas that will enable the Art world to reconect with society. To make that connection it is necessary to analyse the way the Art world works nowadays (as much as time allows) and implement it through architecture to create a new formula, or at least a new ground for debate.



What is Contemporary Art in Amsterdam?


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The Art of the Artist is probably the Art we are most familiar with. Whe we are mentioned the word Art, most of us imagine a museum filled with dusty paintings that portray dictators and battles. The Art of the Artist is the recog-nition of the artist as the ultimate creator of ‘Fine Arts’. All the weight of this responsibility lies on the hands and skills of a single man in front of a canvas. The admiration these skills produce make us want to see the paint-ings for real, almost incredulous of their authenticity. However, the process is always kept secret, as if the fog of creativity disapeared with the presence of a stranger. The art of the artist is a finished Art, on a stool or hanging off a wall, for all to see. This mistery and the marvel of the finished result is and will always be attractive to the human being.


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The Art of the money is very different but complimentary to that of the artist. The art of the money is the trade in and around the Art world that allows it to exist and feed itself. Many patrons of Art actually consider their own achievement the production of a masterpiece. At the end of the day, the patron will but the bread on the plate of the artist, like a gardener would water the plants. Is then creativity or money the engine of the Art world? There is no definite answer to that question, but it is a worthy challenge to create the envelope for such a debate to happen.


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The Art of the show completes the circle of the Art world: the public. Not only is the public the support of museums, but also the customer whenit comes to buying the pieces of Art. Is Art such if it is not agreed by the public? An artist, even with the recognition of critics, will not be able to make a living out of his work if what he produces is not like by at least a tiny gap of the market. There is no real sense then for the Art dealer to bother support-ing the Artist, as he won’t be a safe finantial bet over time. Likewise, it can be argued that all art is born within its context. Michelangello would not have become so famous if there had not been an appreciation for art and the mon-ey for it at the time. Picasso would not have painted the ‘Guernica’ if Spain had not been at war. So is the artist’s art his own or is it all popular culture expressed by one man?


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The three cultures meet around the site in a very peculiar way. As one goes radially from the outskirts to the centre of Amsterdam, these three ways of perceiving Art and Culture follow each other with seeming order and logic. There is no disturbance between them, as there doesn’t seem to be much of a relationship between them either. The groups of peo-ple that form these categories are mainly Tourists or vsitors to the museums; art dealers and collectors in Art Gal-leries, and the public in general for the Centre of Amsterdam. The city addresses the different definitions of Contem-porary Art within it, but in not encouraging them to mix, they get stuck in the pre-fabricated image of Amsterdam as a place of freedom and crossing of cultures.



Again, this diagram tries to bridge the architectural theory with a defined architectural strategy. To allow for this diagram to work though, it had to be in such a way that the three groups could carry on with their tasks without clashing. Meeting is ecouraged through the architecture but not forced into the inhabitants.


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This is the actual system of buying and selling of art pieces, with no contact between the three groups. This is good as it means each of the groups is specialised, but it also means that one element is always left out of the debate, This pattern doesn’t just happen in Amsterdam, but here it is emphasized by the fact that they are so close to each other and yet don not appear to have anything in common.



Diagram of how the groups would relate in the building

This is the suggested system for the ACCA, which would consist of three articulated parts that would interact in the same space. The advantage for art dealers and artists is clear as it would put them in contact with ech other and external art dealers-artists. For the visitor it is a unique oportu-

nity to see the making, the showing and the selling of Dutch Art Pieces.


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The Visitor

The Art DealerThe Artist

The Access Routes

Exhibition SpaceAuction RoomCafé

The office (transac-tions)

The Studios

Diagram explaining the distribution of spaces and the compatibility between the three groups



Diagram that explains the program of the building. This formula has been tested previously, with the ex-ception that before there was no public attending the exhibitions or the production on a regular basis.

Young artists rent out the studios low-cost and produce work for the exhibition space

The visitor watches the making of the art piece

Both visitors and external art dealers can see the exhibited pieces

The pieces of art are auc-tioned and the earnings go to the artists and towards the maintenance of the building

Development

Development

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Permutations of the main SECTION of the building, which will affect the activities inside it.

Final Distribution of spaces in section. This is extremely important to understand how the building is articulated.

First attempts. Each permutation lead to a change in the design, until the most suitable combination was found.

View to the centre of Amsterdam

View to Rijskmuseum + Museumplein



Simultaneous to the development of the section, the different options were tested in working models at 1:200. The conclusions taken fed the de-

velopment of the section and viceversa.

These working models are the most relevant. They are prototypes from which all the others

developed.

Development

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These sketches summarise the main criteria when designing both the section and the working models, that is, sunlight appropriate to the activities takingt place, noise management, views, and compatibility of activities. As can be seen in the two sketches on the right, circulation was a major issue, as the site is almost square. The will to give direct sunlight to the maximum area of the building posible made it very hard to produce a satisfactory plan in terms of core services and transport of people and goods. The Platform is located strategically to connect all the studios, the exhibition room and the auction room with the workshop and with each other.

For the transport of pieces of art in between floors

Noise in the surrounding area.It is a very abrupt change from the main street to the ca-nal, which is calm and quiet

Noise+ Silence within the building



The platform at the entrance mimicks the boathouses by the canals of Amsterdam. Both the building and the platform have a very vernacular shape that blends in with the landscape, but their function is completely different. It forces the

viewer to reconsider the known.

Tectonics

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The model made for the Tectonics project is in effect a working model, an experiment that lead to a better understanding of construction methods and the tectonics of the build-ing. Through the investigation, picking, and processing of materials, both the inside and the outside of the building develop at the same pace, forcing the student to consider the poetics and the constraints of construction.



The brick wall had to be thick to create the feeling of real threshold, and the inside of the wall wa also going to be in brick, so the solution, although not shown is a layer of concrete blockwork sandwiched in between two layers of bricks, plus the insulation and the dpm, as can be seen in the picture. This part of the model is exposed for the sole purpose of showing the internal structure of the building.

This side shows both the street side of the wall and the exhibition spca side of the brick. The glass is detailed so it merges with the floor without any casing. As for the timber casing for the side of the glazing, the idea was used for the model but then discarded after some tests. The posi-tive result of this model is that it forced me to make some key design decissions, some of them early on in the construction of the model, some later on.The model shows the in situ concrete underneath the brickwork, bearing the load and a smoothed screed slab that includes the underfloor heating system. This would make the room warm in the areas where people habitate, and not vicerversa.

This part of the model shows hows the concrte floors would work in this part of the building but also inthe rest of the floors. It includes the bubble-deck systen, with the pre-cast concrete slab underneath, and again the screed on top. It also shows the reinforcement of the concrete that holds the balls of the bubble-deck system together.

The glazing detail is particularly interesting as it can aso be developed further. After some time, the dirt accummulated on the outside could be seen qhen approaching the glass, so the glass could be designed to be stained on the bottom or for it to have a small unmountable piece that would al-low for cleaning.

Tectonics

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Challenges of making a 1:1 model

Architectural Implications

Structural Implications

Consideration of tectonics at a very real scale. BUT the key to the success of the project is that what is learned through the model is extrapolated to the rest of the build-ing AND investigated. It is a means not an end.

Doing a 1:1 model requires a thorough investigation of the materials, the dimensions and the construction of not only the model, but also the rest of the building. It can be seen as a structural analysis, but it can also be considered a profound study of the tectonics of the building, which will affect the way the building is inside and out.



The exposed concrete blockwork in the studio enhances the feeling of hands-on wor, of roughness, of un-processed work.

Tectonics

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The café furniture would be made out of timber almost entirely, in order to give the space the warmth it requires, especially in winter

The decision of whether to have the glass flushed against one side or the other of the wall was more complex than expected. There are implications for the roof structure, and the architectural message changes dramatically. In my design, it went from it being flushed against the street wall, so tere was a natural space created in between, to the opposite. This last option invites the visitor in, and gives a sense of belonging to the building.



DEtail from the Hermitage Museum in Amsterdam

experment to see the experience of the massive black brick block at a human scale

On the contrary, this is what the whole wall would feel like on a storny day

Views

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Section of entrance corridor and outside street



The platform on the canal

The Plans

Plan

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Site Plan at 1:200

Plan

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Basement at 1:100



Ground Floor at 1:100

Plan

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First Floor at 1:100



Second Floor at 1:100

Elevation

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Third Floor at 1:100



Fourth Floor at 1:100

Elevation

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West Elevation at 1:200

Elevation

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Fourth Floor at 1:100



South Elevation at 1:200

Section

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The End

2009 amsterdam centre for contemporary art project

Documents

independence amsterdam

dutch people

real amsterdam

people of amsterdam

dutch character

dutch mind

big task of mapping

religious people