Name: Tom Punte
Track: Architecture
Studio: Form Studies
Year: 2024 / MSc2
Type: Design project
Tutor: Lianne Klitsie
Description:
The project navigates the tension between the need to construct a building within a natural landscape and the desire to preserve the absence of any architecture in it. This conundrum shapes the project’s approach, seeking a presence defined by its own absence, an architectural language that remains both concealed and perceivable. The reclaimed area of Kalvebod Fælled near København was once a military zone contaminated with ammunition and live explosives before being transformed into a nature reserve. The landscape is defined by the linear line of the horizon, shaped where the swaying tall grass meets the sky. Just a few things break the continuity of the horizon, chiefly the birch trees stretching vertically, some alive and others decaying. The landscape changes after heavy rainfall, leaving behind pools of water reflecting the sky and distorting the overall composition of the site. The proposed structure, a research facility dedicated to fieldwork and the study of environmental remediation, occupies the in-between space of the horizon. Sheets of curtain-like polished stainless-steel float just above the moving grass, the mirror-like sheets both reflect and distort its surroundings. A series of timber frames, aligned along the building’s horizontal axis, lift the façade while steel foundation points minimise their connection to the ground. The longitudinal form of the interior is broken up by rows of birch wood cabinets, each hanging onto the timber frame, some open and others closed to regulate the privacy needs of each space. Architectural elements such as windows and the entrance have been concealed, enforcing the ambiguous reading of the building.