0160
13-10-2004
EEUWIGE CONSTRUCTIE
Jo Coenen
Architect
INTRODUCTION
I dread to think what ghastly scenes might take place were films, such as I-robot, which portray our world half a century hence, to become reality. God forbid!
Just as hot lava buried Pompeii, so will the catalogue of modern material bury and destroy our cities. Shocking images of mountains of broken glass, buckled steel sheets, fallen masonry and Venetian blinds. However, I can picture how, amid these piles of rubble, three concrete frames, beautifully fitted together, will rise like honest, naked and bare yet sturdy walls. Like the walls of Pompeii, they seem indestructible and conjure up a picture of the life that was once enacted there. The mute signs of a beautiful past.
ORGANIZATION
The NAi’s structure is everywhere in evidence in the building. The ensemble consists of four highly distinctive building volumes, which are spatially separate or interconnected; the archives building, the exhibition hall, the administrative building and the entrance building. The archives building has an elongated mass with the rhythm of the concrete portals. The green, steel portals situated on the exterior of the administrative building terminate in the striking pergola roof. With its concrete canopy, the entrance building inserts itself underneath. Next to all this, in the pond, is the exhibition building, which inside is composed of concrete slabs.
RULES OF PLAY
Construction of the eternal structure can be carried out by 2 or more people only. Age: 21-120 years, small components are dangerous for children.
Construction will be a spatial discovery. The positioning of the structural components raises the same questions as the realization of the building in reality. Each building volume has its own structural principle.
1. open the box. The structural components are arranged in the box per layer. You will see the structural components on a plate the size of the box. Remove the structural components, then the plate and turn the plate over.
2. Do the same with all of the layers of the box.
3. Part of the floor plan of the NAi is on the plates. Fit these together so that the entire plan is visible.
4. Arrange all of the components that are identical in shape. Which components belong to which building volume?
5. Find the position of these structural components of the NAi in the floor plan.
6. Place the components in the stand.
7. Find the logic for each building volume.
8. Construct it component by component.
9. If in doubt, visit the NAi and have a good look round.
10.Helpdesk: Jo Coenen & Co Architects Amsterdam, www.jocoenen.com.
N.B. 1.Lost structural components can be obtained for a fee from Jo Coenen & Co Architects. N.B. 2. Important: keep the game at room temperature!
-JC
