International Architectural Competition Entry
collaboration with Constantine Cosmas
RESEARCH
The concept is derived from
Amstelredamme indicative of the city’s name origin: a dam in the river Amstel.
Due to several flood disasters Holland is strongly associated with retaining structures.
The legibility of form of a
natural/sustainable dam such as a beaver’s dam challenges the brief. The
morphological flexibility of the two, bridge and dam are combined to produce a
design harmoniously linked to context.
DESIGN
A bridge is conceptualized as a
connection between point A and B or more and is usually materialized as a
route, to overcome obstacles, gaps, natural and artificial barriers and
elements.
A dam offers a connection between
two or more points to act as a threshold, a barrier – to obstruct, oppose,
regulate the flow (of mass?), to slow down. It offers a temporal
“solidification” of moving elements.
The project focuses on issues
involving the relationship between the type of bridge and dam(natural) within
terms of geometry and functionality. It blends the architecture of a dam and a
bridge negotiating a potential “violent” formal conflict. The flowing line of
the bridge instructed by the movement of the people in a formal
conflict/dialogue/opposition to the ambiguous yet rigid geometry of a natural
dam.
The self-referential autonomous
types are combined and implemented with a new architectural program to address
fragments of Amsterdam’s history and give them a sense of reappearance and
continuity and in extent to imply a direct connection between the proposal and
the city, and its urban context.
PROGRAMME / STRUCTURE
A series of operations is then performed to test the
flex of the system. Finally the system is informed/implemented both by
structural (material thickness) and environmental (natural light) factors and
key views to result in a prototype steel spaceframe/lattice. The flowing form
of the lattice follows the curvilinear form of beaver dams always curled
against the stream’s current and satisfy their inherent need to shape the
landscape.
A skin made of arbitrary timber
slats is then added to resemble the natural appearance of beaver dams. The
deliberately formed “pockets” between the skin and the primary structure serve
to adjust/introduce/fit/implement the architectural program of the brief in the
form of “lodges” (the beaver’s homes or “lodges” are formed of the same
material as the rest of the dam with little order or regularity of structure).
The café if lowered to water level to re enforce the connection with the sound of
flowing water (which is the main
stimulus for beaver behaviour to build) and the rest of the bridge sits
reasonably allowing for a clearance of 2.6m under it.
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