Feature

Soul and Soil winners announced

The winners of the Geest en Grond (Soul and Soil) international design competition were announced last week. The competition called for ideas in three categories for the Flowerbulb Region in Holland.

Proposal by ‘local expert’ Alexander Warmenhoven

Local Experts

In order to give the region's residents, those not professionally involved with architecture and urban planning, an opportunity to share their ideas for the region, a special entry form was designed for them. In order to compete for a prize, at least one of the assignments had to be filled in. The forms were distributed throughout the region via village and town halls, clubs and societies, libraries and schools. Though only four entries were received, the jury awarded a first prize to Alexander Warmenhoven from Voorhout. He made the most elaborate and well-considered proposal for all three assignments and conveyed his ideas with convincing drawings.

Soul and Soil Awards

The composition of the jury, the choice of winners, and also the award ceremony all make clear that the 'Geest and Grond' competition aimed for a combination of architecture and local culture. In addition to well-known figures such as Dirk Sijmons (H+N+S) and Nathalie de Vries (MVRDV) from the world of architecture, the jury included local people: Marc Witteman (alderman for town planning in Hillegom) and Joop Swetsloot (former director of flowerbulb auction, Chairman of Museum De Zwarte Tulp). Other jury members were Marinus Houtman (Chairman, Heritage Centre for South Holland) and Jan Vaessen (Director, Netherlands Open Air Museum). This motley gathering resulted in an equally motley gathering of prize-winners, with as highlight the local group from Lisse that took second prize with the scheme The Ramparts. At the award ceremony it was evident that The Ramparts appealed to many locals because of its clear separation between 'town and countryside' and the romantic village setting evoked by the hand-drawn images.

Triple Profit

The Desired Landscape

Competitors in the category The Desired Landscape could make proposals for the restructuring of untidy development along the Delfweg, for a new type of bulb shed, or for a combination of the two.

First prize in this category went to:

Triple Profit by Artgineering: Stefan Bendiks, Aglaee Degros, Jurriaan Hillerstrom (Rotterdam)

Triple Profit: for bulb cultivation, tourism and recycling. Silted-up waterways are dredged and transformed into a network for tourism. An intelligent proposal, according to the jury, that not only encompassed a design for a bulb-shed but also involved other aspects such as the excess silt and the tourist sector. The jury also appreciated the introduction of raised contours in the landscape, whereas many other shed designs opted for underground solutions.

Second prize in this category:

New Bulbland by Architektenwerk Twan Jütte (Delft)

Third prize:

Copy_Paste by John Treffer, Thijs de Zeeuw (Amsterdam)

A number of 'special mentions' were also awarded in each category.

De Hofwal (The Ramparts)

New Heritage

New heritage proved a difficult category. The task of dealing with archaeologically interesting sites or actual remains when designing new housing turned out to be highly challenging. The jury was disappointed by the standard of the designs in this category and decided not to award a first prize.

Second prize went to:

De Hofwal (The Ramparts) by Atelier de Olmenhorst: Lennard Duindam, Martijn Kessler (Lisse)

Third prize went to:

Bulb Fiction by MVC: Francois Mertens, Francesco Cazzola, Luca Veltri (Milan, Italy)

The 123 submitted schemes, 27 of them from abroad, were distributed fairly evenly among three categories.

Bulb & Breakfast

The category Bulb & Breakfast called for the design of temporary lodgings in a traditional bulb-shed, complete with a marketing plan and logo.

First prize in this category went to:

The Dutch Bulbs by Caroline Wolf, Anna Kalvelage, Lorenz Schreiber, Attila Saygel (Berlin, Germany)

The 'bulb storage huts' scattered around the Flowerbulb Region offer the possibility of overnight stays for ramblers. Guests receive a 'heritage lunch package' in the hut to set up their sleeping place. This design won on account of the superior rationalisation and marketing concept and the attractive execution. The idea of choosing sober and spartan as a public draw was particularly appreciated.

Other prizes in this category went to:

Second Prize:

To the bulbs by studiosap: Hetty Keiren, Suzan Jorritsma, Mariëlle Tolenaar (Amsterdam)

Third prizes:

Bulb it up by Johan Selbing, Anouk Vogel (Amsterdam)

Bed in shed by Florencia Alvarez, Sofía Picozzi (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Soul and Soil Exhibition

The prize-winning schemes are on display until June 6 in the office Geest en Grond and the adjacent Museum De Zwarte Tulp in Lisse. Also on view are all the presentation books from the other competition entrants.

Eventarchitectuur (Herman Verkerk and Paul Kuipers) used modest means to design a straightforward exhibition inspired by the strips of cheerful colours in the bulb fields. Sections of coloured carpet on the floor give way to geometric flowerbeds in the garden. The prize-winning designs are presented on display tables made of rough planks and on the walls, both inside and outside in the garden. Inside and outside thus merge seamlessly with each other. A real spring exhibition. An out-of-the-way venue for city-dwellers perhaps, but absolutely worth while in combination with a visit to the Keukenhof flower show.