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Building with two apartments & children's theatre
Europapark, Groningen
When invited to participate in the 2001 Europapark, Groningen, under the auspices of the Japanese architect Toyo Ito, we made the decision to build a usable a building that played a long term role in the city, rather than designing an installation that would temporarily transform the cityscape.
This project, comprising two small apartment buildings and temporary children's theatre, was commissioned by the Municipality of Groningen as part of their Blue Moon festival in August 2001. These apartments look out to a range of elements, which characterise the streetscapes of Lutkenieuwstraat, whether an ornament on a roof cornice in the building opposite or a person on a bicycle reflected in a shop window.
The building is constructed in a straightforward and standard way, and related to its urban surroundings by the simple gestures of setting the building back and making the top floor transparent, creating grand views across the city. The building is intended to nestle into the fabric of the city inconspicuously, throwing into visibility through reflective glazing, the simple incidental events of the street.
Even on the ground floor, connections to the surroundings are implied. The communal entrance is arranged as a domestic room, which opens onto and operates as part of the street. It features a bespoke storage cupboard for bicycles, which is a reconstruction of a 17th century cabinet located in a nearby house.
The concept for the temporary theatre was very simple. It exists as a field of maize which is sown in the spring and cut down in Autumn. During the summer the theatre comes alive with activity as performances are acted out in the spaces carved out of the field.
Completion Date: 2001
Executive Architects: Lex van Helden, Warner Snippe and Rodolph Bonstra of van Helden project-architect b.v. of Groningen.
Client: Municipality of Groningen
Budget: £800,000
Photographs: Hélène Binet
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