International project
The Couch
UCH
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In Trieste, Italy, SoNo Arhitekti’s design won the 1st prize in the invited
architectural competition for the Slovenian book center.
I
Jburg is a new district to the east of Amsterdam. On its six artificial
islands, 18 000 homes will eventually be built for 45 000 residents. At
present, the district holds just 16 000 of these inhabitants. There are many
initiatives to attract people to the area, such as the beach at Blijburg aan Zee,
and the newly formed IJburg Tennis Club itself. The tennis club, currently
with 1 100 members, has 10 clay courts and a tennis school. The new club
house will be the centre of the club’s activities. The zoning for the area
allowed space for a tennis club, but a building could not be built quickly
enough, and so the courts were made and a temporary facility installed.
MVRDV’s design will now fill this gap with an iconically functional building which
provides both a viewing platform and a club overlooking the water. The aim of the
club is to be as accessible as possible, meaning that it is open to the public, free o f
charge, 365 days a year. Not a private club, but a meeting place for young and old,
where you can grab a coffee and a healthy snack, or meet with friends, or even just
check your emails. MVRDV’s challenge was to create a building that works as a
central gathering for the area. A living room for IJburg, where the building becomes