Europan 13 - Opínaanvan - Streefkerk - NL - special mention
The main aim of our proposal is to develope a system that complements the work of the Dutch National Delta Programme in its task of protecting the Netherlands now and in the future against flooding. In this sense, we think that our exercise is more interesting if it is understood from its potential as a system or strategy rather than as the individual solution of a given area. It is not an architecture of metaphors but actions and ideas. An architecture that allows reform, rebuild, change its image. A non-form architecture that can absorb spontaneously additions, subtractions or technical modifications without disturbing its order. We are not looking for a final image but a strategy that can be easily adapted along the dike.
For this reason, in our proposal, we have tried to cover the widest possible area over the 11 km - long section of the dike declared inadequate on a detailed analysis of the different cases. The study of the the position of the houses on the dike, its entrance, its height, the views over the river Lek and the polders, its orientation and also the materials used, are the variables used to isolate the different parameters that allow us to offer a more rigorous answer to each problem. With these parameters we will create a catalogue of actions that respond to the specific situation of each house. These are simple actions, open, flexible, recoverable and convertible strategies. Once the action to be applied on each case is chosen, the form appears...
The dike reinforcement will require the demolition of several houses and barns. Most of the houses will be rebuilt. Nevertheless, for those areas where housing is not planned to be demolished, certain actions are proposed to anticipate future dike reinforcements.
These rehabilitation operations focus on preserving and protecting the current identity of the area. Temporary houses will also be offered to host families while their houses are being rebuilt. An extra guarantee.
The main aim is to create a system, a strategy without a huge formal component, which allows its implementation in a wide range of situations, not just in the specific project site.
Later on, one of these generic concepts is applied to the project area and developed in depth. Once more the goal is not to create a final image but to show its development as a real case.
