California-based architect Sid Wichienkuer aims to reasserts architecture with his redesign for the TU Delft School of Architecture. After the school’s tragic fire, they held an open competition for their building for Bouwkunde.

Wichienkuer proposal used sections and topographies as a driving  force. The building is oriented around a central quad at its base, surrounded by the school’s library and a series of design laboratories. As the building roses, each floor is centered around a gathering or communal space at its core, with other rooms radiating outwards. An expandable auditorium is centered on this level.

The building’s facade is kept porous with a series of horizontal pieces spaced apart. These levels can be used as outdoor seating and stairs, allowing students to climb the building.

From Sid Wichienkuer:

‘The world is in crisis! Economies are collapsing, ecologies are failing, and global stability is threatened. If the rebuilding of the architecture school is an outward expression of the philosophy of a school this building will be a declaration that architecture will be relevant, will be involved with other academic communities in solving these dire problems, and will seek a new sense of civic leadership.

The use of section and topographies become the driving force behind this project. The building emanates from the central quad presenting to the community at its base, the library, the accumulated knowledge of the school. Similarly, the interface to the greater Delft community is a series of building laboratories where the spectacle of experimentation by the faculty and students is presented to the quad and greater school. It is intended that each these laboratories foster a dialogue and are used to build, experiment, and innovate.

By reconstituting and reconsidering each of the precedents, the resultant project intends to not reinvent but understand how section can foster productive architectural relationships.
The gathering/communal spaces are stacked through the core of the building – operating as a central gathering space for offices, studios, and the greater community as a central, unifying element that serves the same purpose for a variety of programs.

The ground level is extremely porous with the intention of capturing the interest of passerbyers and architects alike. The center of the space is the auditorium(a) space that can be configured to accommodate multiple size and varyingly public gatherings. The option remains to accommodate even the largest of gatherings as a gesture toward bringing thinkers and doers of all-calibers, whether architects or not, into the dialogue of the building.

The language of productive topographical surfaces is exploited for creating circulation, shading users, creating usable surfaces, storing objects, and seating. The resulting dense, carved space envelopes all the users of the building.’