DESA1002 'Continuous City' <Sean Haigh>

Abstract

This semester my design is of a Library in Amsterdam, located opposite the Niewe Kirk or new church, I chose to make the building a contemporary design rather than attempting to mimic the historical buildings surrounding it. I used the materials of the building, predominantly brick, to tie it to its context rather than form. The street facing facades are concaved in order to draw passers by into the building, and individualise the library from the traditional row housing. The upper level is trussed to give the library a modern look while providing clear views to the Niewe Kirk and Magna Plaza. It incudes large amounts of glazing, which is frosted in key areas to provide some privacy while maximising the interior lighting in the dull Dutch climate. The triangular atrium carries down through all the levels to the lobby and parallels the overall shape of the building. The form of the library is strongly based on the theories and works of Louis Khan, one of my favourite architects, and a person who I had chosen to study during the mid year break. I purposely went about putting Khans philosophy into practice, but now realise that this may have been a mistake so early on in my studies. I became too fixated on his ideas, and the resulting concept designs were in many ways too derivative of Khans work. Therefore I spent much of the semester trying to create an individual identity for my building rather than progressing in the outlined stages. Although I was pleased with the final design of the library, I think there are still many issues that need to be resolved. I also think that, like many of my tutorial group, the building relates well to its context, however this could be at the expense of being too conservative.