Overview Attention to social aspect, attempts to interconnect personal emotions with human rationality can be probably described as the main distinctive features of the contemporary Dutch architecture. Dutch urban planning presents a perfect example of how the quality of public space and privacy can be reconciled therefore interacting with each other.
Borneo Sporenburg project is aimed to become a perfect respond to a new concept of life requested by the modern society. Indeed, life seems to be more simple, genuine, informal and jovial; The lifestyle immediately becomes an indicator of living standards. The usage of different building configurations is the main principle of Borneo Sporenburg.
Big “screen windows” of the houses, which are located everywhere along the beautiful city canals, amazes passers-by by the reflections on the water, at the same time allowing them “to share” experiences with local inhabitants. One of the first impression when seeing Borneo Sporenburg is how the water takes the different elevations merging them into something uniform.
Public Space Concept The main concept of our project is turning the reflection into something real, concrete, tangible! The wood dock, located at the headboard, represents the GLARE of the existing buildings. The rhythm created by the Borneo houses facades is maintained thanks to the poles: they represent the profile of the buildings as well as being the dock structure. The structural reinforcement cables create a perfect harbor scenario. The lampposts are located below the beams of the high poles in order to light up the dock. The dock is composed of several different functions: bike-parking, benches, playground, green areas and functional areas.
Private Space Concept The house is made of wood and walkable polycarbonate mostly, representing project ecological features.The concept of the famous big Dutch windows, left uncovered day and night, represents the concrete articulation of the boundary between the public and private life. Bedrooms and services are slightly hidden in the back of the house. The main living space is "forwarded towards the outside landscape", creating an amazing view out of the windows. The entire transparent facade can be easily opened by a hand lever. The large living space is continual with all the floors of the building even when the “openable” wall is closed. When the facade is opened, the whole harbor panorama becomes a space in direct contact with the house, a huge "screen a "unique" window, an “open space”. The use of polycarbonate allows natural light filtering and considerable energy saving. In addition, this material has excellent thermal characteristics. The house gets energy from the wind power system located on the roof. Project: Tommaso Secchi, Dario Ruberti, Lucia Frascerra Competition: L.I.BO. - Living in Borneo international competition Award: 3th AWR - Architecture Workshop in Rome Year: 2013