UPD 2014-30-06
The winner of the competition was NL Architects. The jury noted that their project is “beaming with enthusiasm”, its concept is “simple and clear”, and the thinking of the authors is “inventive and innovative”.
Out of 44 architectural firms that applied for participation in the competition, only four were shortlisted. These are BIG together with their colleagues from Amsterdam Allard Architecture, Kengo Kuma & Associates (Japan), NL Architects (Netherlands) and the tandem of the American companies Architecture Studio HH and SO-IL.
The full name of the ARTA complex is Arnhem Art Cluster. Being projected on the banks of the Rhine, it will be home to the city's museum and cinema, as well as a new point of attraction for social and cultural activities. Part of a larger redevelopment project for the coastal area of Arnhem, this facility aims to connect the city to the river and integrate the embankment into urban life.
The American companies Architecture Studio HH and SO-IL proposed a laconic composition of several parallelepipeds of different sizes, which form developed consoles: they allowed to include the city square in the complex and make the boundary between exhibition halls and an open-air foyer more conditional.
Kengo Kuma also did not separate ARTA from the city with impenetrable walls: on the contrary, it makes the first floor completely transparent along the entire perimeter of the building, as if bringing part of the exhibition into fresh air.
And due to the fact that the area of each next floor is slightly larger than that of the previous one, the building hangs over the street with a step-like console, creating a cozy urban space, reliably protected from precipitation.
A similar scenario was implemented by the Dutch bureau NL Architects.
Their complex is the same system of steps "rising" from the embankment to the city center.
True, the space under the "staircase" is filled with different functions. But on top, each of the steps has been turned into a landscaped and landscaped terrace.
And, finally, in their project, BIG combined the two most common typologies - "black box" and "white cube", i.e. cinema and museum.
At first, the architects simply placed them side by side, then merged them into a single parallelepiped, closing them diagonally, and then, as if twisted the resulting volume with a "bow", completely glazing the place of inflection.
As a result of this transformation, the city acquires a memorable bright object, equally interestingly perceived both from the center and from the water.
The jury will make the final decision on the selection of the winning project after March 19. It is planned to build a new center by 2018.
