Atelier Kempe Thill, Rotterdam
The modern Paradox: Specific Neutrality
Architects are more and more confronted with a modern paradoxical: buildings have to be specific, unique and special. Architecture is used as "branding", as an easily understandable iconography, by which one wants to make a difference on all levels: privately, in the neighborhood, as a city, region, even as a whole country.
At the same time programatic changes happen more often and faster, linked towards the dynamics of economy. For this, architecture has to be as neutral, able to be resold, reusable and as flexible as possible, no matter if it is housing, offices or public buildings.
The relationship between neutral and specific has to be redefined from this point of view.
Since its existence Atelier Kempe Thill works on a series of prototypes for different tasks which especially this relationship defines anew. Parallel with this are studies exhibited about specific construction methods and materialization.
Aim of all activities is, to develop the unique, special of a project directly from out of the neutral, to bring the basic contradiction of the antagonistic expectations to an unexpected synthesis, towards the essential architectonic quality.
The concept of the exhibition is to reflect in a direct way the prototypical way the office works. The shown works are divided into
1. Courtyard types (big projects in collective housing / office building / urbanism)
2. Compact atrium types (big projects in collective housing, public buildings)
3. Halls (public buildings)
The projects are shown by means of models, images of spaces and building material. The models show the qualities of the designs as objects, the images of the spaces demonstrate their suggestive strength and potential, the building material brings a direct confrontation with its physical qualities in the original scale.
