chess in Eindhoven
temporary shopping center with a sustainable future
The area Strijp S, a wide plot between two colossal former industrial buildings, will in the future be developed as a mixed-use residential area with shops. The urban master plan proposes two large square-shaped building sites with small-scale, kasbah-like buildings with large parking garages underneath.
| status: | Project |
| year: | 2010 |
| location: | Strijp S, Eindhoven |
| client: | Woningcorporatie Trudo |
The Trudo housing corporation asked us to think about how to start the development of the area within a very short preparation time, in order to prepare the area for future plans. The first structures they envisioned were several temporary stores for design and design-related products.
In our answer to the client's question we make no distinction between dwellings and shops: all structures we propose are versatile enough to be used to live in and/or to work. The buildings we propose are inspired by our project for De Kamers. They are rough, sturdy wooden volumes stacked on top of each other. The volumes are constructed of cross-laminated solid-wood panels using a specific gluing technique to make the material water- and frost-resistant. Due to the thickness of the material the buildings can temporarily and comfortably function even without any insulation and can be used without internal and external finishes. Until now the use of CLT was not possible without external cladding; we therefore regard the material manufactured by a Austrian panel manufacturer as an important step forward in the development of solid-wood technology: CLT 2.0.
waterproof glued solid wood
In the first phase the enclave is used as a shopping village or ensemble of studio spaces.
In the second phase the enclave might be used for living, on the site itself or dismantled and reassembled on a different location.
Our proposal is an attempt to combine sustainability and spatial quality in this temporary development - opposing concepts in terms of temporality, the corresponding low budgets and an unavoidable short depreciation period. We therefore design buildings that are as large, solid and beautiful as permanent buildings. The only definite difference is that they are not finished, either inside or outside; yet they are inhabitable and useful.
As a "rough building" of a future development, the buildings meet all the technical (insulation) requirements imposed on temporary buildings. In the future, they can be dressed and reused in a variety of ways. Inside, no concessions have been made to the temporary nature of the project: they are bright, spacious and versatile.
sections
Our proposal is an attempt to combine sustainability and spatial quality with a temporary development.
