Connecting the Dots
Regulating circulation to strengthen local identity and foster social cohesion
F. Laufer Schuh (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
H.J. Bultstra – Mentor (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
A.M.F. van Dam – Mentor (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
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Abstract
Following the closing of its gas field, which induced earthquakes that caused harm to people and buildings over the years, the province of Groningen, through the program Nij Begun, is at a turning point, investing on tourism as a way of revitalizing its social and economic welfare. This new beginning (as Nij Begun suggests) requires a balance between increasing tourism and local community needs. Therefore, this project aims to propose the design of an activity center in the village of Winsum that uses tourism as a driver for socio-economic healing and social cohesion and that strengthens the local identity.
By means of a Research-by-design approach that combines theoretical studies and design experimentations through analytical, comparative, and representational tools, the project works upon hybridity, multiplicity, circulation and regionalist architecture to achieve its goals. In exploring an architecture of regionalism, the design departs from the specific characteristics of the building terrain, resulting on four buildings that frame different visuals of the landscape and, in some cases, reinterpret historical landscape formations. In the same respect, the design incorporates local and bio-based materials. A terracotta pathway connects the different buildings, creating a journey throughout the landscape that promotes the overlapping of paths of tourists and locals, generating spontaneous interactions between them.
Ultimately, the design demonstrates how architecture can go beyond merely accommodating functions, being in fact a powerful tool to strengthen economy and identity in vulnerable communities. It proves that contemporary regionalism can honour a landscape without replicating historical styles and that careful orchestration of circulation can foster social cohesion.