Architects Kas Osterheis and Ilona Lenard have designed 5 unique sites for mountaineering centers in Amsterdam and Dordrecht. The task was not easy, therefore, designers from ARCADIS and specialists from the customer company were also involved in the work on the project.
The huge wooden structures (the surface area of the largest of them is 930 m2) are painted in light colors. They are distinguished from other similar projects by their amazing complexity and variety of geometric shapes. The upper oculus holes create an ever-changing play of light and shadow on countless edges, depending on the weather and time of day.
Bureau Oosterhuis_Lénárd (ONL) - renowned experts in "computer" architecture. To implement the project, they developed a special program for parametric design. With its help, it was possible to reduce the implementation period of such projects from 3-6 months to 4 weeks and significantly reduce costs.
A free-standing wooden structure of almost any geometric shape can be created fully automatically: the program itself will calculate the loads in the most stressed places and highlight the borderline and unacceptable indicators with color. Also, the program itself tries to minimize the number of joints in the structure, which, firstly, greatly facilitates installation, and secondly, it allows you to increase the span of floors. As a result, an additional supporting frame becomes unnecessary, as the structure becomes self-supporting.
The project was awarded the Dutch Wood Innovation Award 2012. The jury appreciated the new possibilities of using wood in the design of such structures.
L. M.
