MATTHIJS BOUW INTERVIEW
“To me, design is not something that comes at the end of the process, but has a broader application. You use design to illustrate complex issues and make them negotiable. You use design to communicate with different actors who have an impact on it, for example because they own land or because they live there and are marginalised. The conversation is easy to have with a design.”
FOCUS ON FLOATING ARCHITECTURE
Building on water is, in itself, nothing new. Since time immemorial, boatmen and fishers have lived on boats, and all over the world, even apart from professional practice, ways have been sought to make the water surface near enough habitable. It may be done by building on piles, on mounds and dykes, or, more radically, by setting houses afloat.
FORBO FLOORING SYSTEMS HIGHLIGHT
The architecture of the Aeres University of Applied Sciences in Almere is of a new order. It demonstrates more and more what buildings will look like in the future, so it would be reasonable to call it “ecofuturistic”. Features that immediately catch the eye include a facade with solar panels, another facade and an overhang both clad with plants, and a canopy of solar panels floating above the roof terrace.