Jarrik Ouburg (head of Architecture) wins first prize in prestigious Europan competition

Published on

Architect Jarrik Ouburg (head of Architecture) has won the first prize in the prestigious Europan competition. The winning project 'The Nolli Gardens' consists of a new urban plan and two residential buildings for part of the modernist district Kortephohja in Jyväskylä, a medium-sized city in Finland. He was also granted the construction assignment together with the first prize.

 

The winning project The Nolli Gardens is a collaboration between Jarrik Ouburg, Freyke Hartemink (Office Jarrik Ouburg) and Maciej Abramczyk. The aim of the project is to make an attractive local centre, whereby the physical development is the catalyst for social integration, communities are self-sufficient and self-organising, and the buildings form small villages within the network of the city.

 

The existing modernist urban design scheme is inverted in the plan: the public space is not defined by the buildings, but by the public space. Two large collective spaces, unique in Jyväskylä, form the heart of the plan. One space is the central meeting place for students and the other for the elderly and the neighbourhood. The development (in total approximately 25,000m2) forms a frame around these spaces.

 

Jarrik Ouburg: ‘In 1784, Giambattista Nolli drew a surprising map of Rome. A map normally showed the built space in black and the undeveloped space in white, as a result of which a clear contrast was always suggested between private and public spaces. Nolli drew the accessible collective spaces of the city, such as the interior of a church or the Pantheon, white for the first time. The spaces, which we call the Nolli Gardens, are actually important for a community, because they are conditioned collective spaces, which can gain meaning through communal use.

 

The housing blocks are interwoven with these Nolli Garden in the plan. ‘In the residential building for students, these spaces interrupt the rational circulation and ensure there is a spatial interruption and a programmatic enrichment, such as a collective dining room with kitchen, winter garden, library, sauna etc. It is the communal space in the central building that is programmed with a piano, kitchen, library etc.’

 

In January 2016, the design team will return to Finland for the start of the first phase of the construction assignment. In 2017, the construction of the Nolli Gardens will commence.

 

Architect Jarrik Ouburg (head of Architecture) has won the first prize in the prestigious Europan competition. The winning project 'The Nolli Gardens' consists of a new urban plan and two residential buildings for part of the modernist district Kortephohja in Jyväskylä, a medium-sized city in Finland. He was also granted the construction assignment together with the first prize.

The winning project The Nolli Gardens is a collaboration between Jarrik Ouburg, Freyke Hartemink (Office Jarrik Ouburg) and Maciej Abramczyk. The aim of the project is to make an attractive local centre, whereby the physical development is the catalyst for social integration, communities are self-sufficient and self-organising, and the buildings form small villages within the network of the city.

The existing modernist urban design scheme is inverted in the plan: the public space is not defined by the buildings, but by the public space. Two large collective spaces, unique in Jyväskylä, form the heart of the plan. One space is the central meeting place for students and the other for the elderly and the neighbourhood. The development (in total approximately 25,000m2) forms a frame around these spaces.

Jarrik Ouburg: ‘In 1784, Giambattista Nolli drew a surprising map of Rome. A map normally showed the built space in black and the undeveloped space in white, as a result of which a clear contrast was always suggested between private and public spaces. Nolli drew the accessible collective spaces of the city, such as the interior of a church or the Pantheon, white for the first time. The spaces, which we call the Nolli Gardens, are actually important for a community, because they are conditioned collective spaces, which can gain meaning through communal use.

The housing blocks are interwoven with these Nolli Garden in the plan. ‘In the residential building for students, these spaces interrupt the rational circulation and ensure there is a spatial interruption and a programmatic enrichment, such as a collective dining room with kitchen, winter garden, library, sauna etc. It is the communal space in the central building that is programmed with a piano, kitchen, library etc.’

In January 2016, the design team will return to Finland for the start of the first phase of the construction assignment. In 2017, the construction of the Nolli Gardens will commence.

Share