#Dozens #architects #designing #alternatives #incredibly #ugly #Heineken #Hoek
Although the sparkling white building on the site of the Heineken Hoek is almost finished, the alternative design competition for a new building has received no fewer than 32 entries. And they didn’t just come from the Netherlands. Roland Larivière even came over from France especially for this.
He may not be a professional architect, but Roland Larivière is certainly dedicated. It is his first time in Amsterdam, and he looks wide-eyed at the new building on the site of the Heineken Hoek: “Everyone can see that this is not beautiful. I am an amateur architect, but I am passionate about harmonious structures that fit into the cityscape. That’s why I took part in the competition.”
Extremely ugly
This competition was organized by Architectuur Omslag, an organization that is committed to ‘beautiful building’, while retaining the local identity. “The goal is to show people that there is an alternative,” says Ruben Hansen of Architectuur Omslag. “A traditional approach also allows for a lot of creativity. People sometimes think that you always see the same thing, but as you can see from the entries, the designs differ enormously.”
Not only did Hansen find the current design “incredibly ugly”, he also wants citizens to be more involved in decision-making regarding new buildings in the traditional cityscape.
It was a bit of a shock that 32 entries suddenly arrived. Hansen: “We expected about seven, but then suddenly it turned out that an entire class from an American university was participating. The entries just kept pouring in.” The entries also came from France, Germany and the United Kingdom, among others.
Send a signal
Entrepreneur Won Yip’s sparkling white building, The Diamond, should be completed in March. Amsterdam residents previously expressed their dissatisfaction about it, while Yip himself remained laconic: he thought the fuss was a waste of time.
Lavrière realizes that the current building will not be demolished to make way for his design: “But modern architecture ages quickly, so I don’t know whether it will still be there in thirty or forty years. With this competition we’re sending out a signal: you have to keep fighting the cubes.”
He thinks his design certainly has a chance of winning: “I designed it in such a way that the windows and doors are in the same place, so you just have to build a stone wall around it. The green and white elements of Heineken come in back, so that the original feeling is retained.”
To vote
You can vote for the winning design until February 17 via the Instagram page and website of Architectuur Omslag. The winner of the jury and audience prize will be announced on February 19. Both winners receive a modest amount of money and a book about Amsterdam.
