WORLD SUSTAINABILITY CENTRE COMPETITION | NETHERLANDS | 2009

The World Sustainability Centre in Afsluitdijk is an exemplar of connectivity. It endeavors to augment both its own sphere of influence and that of its associations by forging connections to the immediate regional and global community beyond. While the Centre must engage professionals and academics conceptually and pragmatically, it must do likewise with the general public. This requires that the Centre operate on a somewhat iconographic level, capturing the imaginations of passersby, offering a unique educational experience and perspective on local ecologies. To this end, the landscape and architectural forms present an exhilarating and progressive investigation into emerging technologies while offering a flexible enough environment to accommodate the rapid pace of change inherent in resource conservation research. The Centre must define itself as an agglomeration of many entities with common interests and therefore cannot be reflected in a simple, single structure.

This proposal recommends that three initial and critical connections to the broader community be considered by the Centre. Firstly, connections must be made with universities and technical institutes globally. The Centre is envisioned as a ‘mixing-pot’ for all these educational interests, providing an interface between academic research and the efforts of professionals, the second critical link. Lastly, we understand the Centre as both a place of natural ecologies and beauty as well as an emblem for the progressive thinking. This proposal envisions natural systems restored to act not only as a buffer to the Wadden Sea, but also as an educational and recreational landscape actively programmed by the Centre and accepted as a new node in the Dutch national park system. Through a series of floating piers constructed in the Wadden Sea, temporary exhibitions themed around emerging sustainable strategies and technologies are made possible with their integration into the natural landscape carefully considered.

Embracing Lake Ijssel is a very actively programmed area including a marina and guest accommodations area, an outdoor amphitheatre and an agricultural research garden. Transportation access to the site is focused on energy-efficient shuttle buses and watercraft that bring visitors from various remote parking lots for automobiles, some located within minutes from the Centre and others located off-site near Zurich.

A Centre worthy of the global participation that this new culture of invention and education will attract must provide superior facilities and environs for its users. The office structure is defined as a set of open research clusters or groups. The aim is for complete openness and collaboration between various disciplines and groups. There is no distinction made between the facilities of academics and professionals as it is envisioned that they will work side-by-side. Each research cluster is composed of open office space, shared private offices, conference rooms, a research laboratory, restroom facilities and storage. The size of each research group can expand or contract based on an incremental system. In order to maximize social interaction between the various groups, vertical circulation systems are placed in common interior garden areas that accommodate informal gathering.

The Centre features an iconic observation tower that sits boldly over the submerged lecture hall. The tower presents an opportunity to view the Centre and the surrounding landscape in a spectacular fashion. Visitors begin their ascent in the main lobby of the tower where a cafe, gift shop and large exhibition hall are located. Upon arriving on the observation platform via the elevator, visitors then begin an interactive descent through the structure, constantly confronted with unique framed views of the landscape. The tower presents a large surface area that can be investigated as a means of energy-production or as an armature for the cultivation of organic food products, in essence, a vertical farm.

Several key features include a high-performance, operable metal façade shading system that responds in its articulation to the building’s orientation relative to the sun. Façade panels alternate between solid panels (solar), perforated panels (glare and sun control) and void panels (view apertures). Additionally, all hard and soft surfaces including the roofs are optimized for rain water collection and filtration and the lake is used as a heat sink for the cooling system, eliminating the need for specific conventional mechanical equipment.

Principal: Mario Cipresso

Project Team: Irina Krusteva, Ryan Ramirez, Tanya Retherford, Bryan Chavac, Ken Matsui, Garrett Helm