Hilde van Dijk
House of Cultures. Academie voor Bouwkunst (The Netherlands)
The design for House of Cultures is based on a program of temporary living for persons, sent all over the world by companies or organisations, in which the exchange of cultures between the residents and the local inhabitors wil be progressed.
In an episode of increasing globalisation, the disappearing of nation boarders, new territorial beacons appear. These formed regions are based on natively, sometimes even ethnically or race. They are blurry and hardly formalised so that tensions between cultures become visible. The ambition of the House of Cultures is to promote the exchange between culture carriers, not primarily based on language or knowledge, but unforced activities based on sensomotoric experiences. These sensitivical values find expression in the design of spaces, the transitions and materialisation. The House of Cultures consistsof four parts that are elementary.These four parts together form the building: the Base (the element that makes the connection in a variable situation with the local urban context), the Shell (the protected archetypical form),the Monolith (which contains the programme inside) and the Passages (which can be used arbitrarily). Shell, Monolith and Passages together forms a coherent and neutral total that, whith small variations, is usable in every cultural context. In spite of al the free choices, an avowed scheme lies at the base. That leads up to an exchange of cultures and the ascertainty of common grounds. At the same time, the accent lies on the native tradition and the awareness of a global connection.
The belonging to a certain culture, the knowledge of its sources and traditions wil be considered as a vital condition for exchange and coexistence. The foundation of this scheme is a form of ‘learning’ that arises from activities based on recreation; Celebrate.
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