Rocha Tombal

Rocha Tombal

Netherlands

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PROFILE

Ana Rocha and Michel Tombal left major roles at Dutch mega-practice Mecanoo to set up Rocha Tombal in 2006. Their work is an attempt to reconnect with the emotional resonance of architecture, the remembered spaces of childhood, 'the light reflection in the corridor, the intimacy of the attic shape, the excitement of the open doors to the inviting garden.' The recently completed Huis Bierings and Huis Ijburg illustrate this approach: superficially modernist in form and materials, but actually rather uncanny and intricate in feel, their spatial eccentricities are exaggerated by window placement and the play of natural light paired with a healthy disdain for the self-conscious traditionalism of the open plan.

Prinseneiland House

Their proposed house is set in Amsterdam's Prinseneiland harbour extension which Rocha and Tombal describe as ‘a battlefield where warehouses, residential blocks, freighters and private boats have attempted to establish its hegemony'. Set amongst the scrubby vegetation of post-industrial decay, the house is designed as a 'sounding box where natural lighting and the variety of views generated a state of constant transformation.' Intended as a low-impact house that maximises sustainability and solar gain, the Prinseneiland House is arranged around a service nucleus (the kitchen and stairs) with the rest of the house open and flexible like the original brick warehouses that dot the surrounding landscape. Finally, the house's close relationship to nature and decay is cemented by the use of recycled panels in the facade. 'A good building has a structural role in its surroundings,' they say, explaining that they ‘create a relationship between the inside life of a building and the surroundings.'


http://www.rocha.tombal.nl

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