MINT Architecten 2023
Through LinkedIn I was offered a position as junior architect at this young architecture firm that was planning to grow into a mid-sized firm, in which I would be able to develop and grow with the firm. Unfortunately, 3 months in, the firm actually shrunk down to three.
As one third of the office I had the unique opportunity to get very 'close to the fire'. Meaning: learning about all kinds of part of the business that an architecture office deals with outside of the regular phases of a design, which was quite insightful. Meanwhile I was the one producing the majority of the work (All work displayed on this page was created by myself) and the office had become too small for me.
Experiences that I gained included working on various feasibility studies, development of projects from preliminary design phases through to the definitive design phase, and research on the various scales within architecture and built design.
Project Preliminary Design Development (VO)
The north of the Netherlands has fallen victim to the earthquakes resulting from the oil drilling that has taken place in the past.
Next to this historical house, one of the original barns had been destroyed in a fire and now the other barn is severely damaged due to earthquakes, requiring two entirely new barns on the site.
The design had to closely resemble the original barns, though the leading constraints were timing and financial, while being functional and still aesthetically hold up next to the historic house.
Technical Design (TO) Exterior + Definitive Design (DO) Interior
For this location of a public library we simultaneously designed a new expansion and upgraded interior, which would go hand in hand, but not at the same speed.
For the technical design of the expansion it was a unique situation to be part of a project team in which the client rented the space from the building owners, who had invited the contractor to be involved, were all present at the meetings. This allowed everyone involved to bring their expertise and priorities to the table at the same time.
For the interior design it would be a smaller team with the client only to create a cohesive present day design in a 50% larger footprint.
Feasibility Study Former School
Part of a redevelopment plan on a large site in the north of the country was research on the possibilities on adaptive reuse for 'Unit 3'.
The elevation changes between the road, building's ground floor and the project site, in combination with the proximity of the building to the road and surrounding water made for challenging conditions, specifically regarding accessibility and meeting parking norms.
Three different scenarios were proposed for the building formerly used as a boarding school for troubled youth. In the first scenario the building will be optimized for its current users, including the surrounding site and parking norms. For the second and third scenarios the building is converted into market rate housing, one being 24 apartments and the other being 16 terraced housing.
Plot-Passports Drenthe
This unique triangular shaped site in the east of the Netherlands has room for 11 houses on the eastern edges, as well as a communal facilities in the industrial former wastewater treatment structures.
In order to create a cohesive whole for the 11 individual plots, it is important to give new buyers a "passport" for their website showing the boundaries of what they can do on this site.
Designing a clear overview of the facts for each plot was a design exercise that I enjoyed doing, while learning more about the landscape and the surroundings of part of the country that I was unfamiliar with.
