Mid Term Review

After a week of frustrating days and sleepless night. We just managed to finish enough work to have a mid term review.

I have to admit that the work (at least of my group) could, in fact should have been better.

The studio for some reason doesn’t have a focus; the problem at hand - i.e. designing the high speed train station at South Axis, Amsterdam (Zuidas as they like to call it here) – has more to it than just a well designed station. And I constantly feel a disbelief in most students (including myself) in the idea that an architect can solve the problems of the strange master plan and weird political situation of this ‘New City Centre’. I guess the below picture shows exactly that same worry on the faces of most Jury members.

But to be fare to the tutors I have to say that it is not an easy problem to digest let alone to find a solution too. And I have to admit its nice to have a room full of some of the top architects in Europe trying to help us figure this one out.

In the picture above from left to right in front row – Vedran Mimica (Asst. Dean Berlage), Sylvia Lavin (American Architectural Critic and Greg Lynn’s wife), Ben Van Berkel (Namesake Tutor and Director of UN studio), Alejandro Zaera Polo (Dean Berlage and Director FOA), Jaap (Project Leader Zuidas station OveArup London) and I don’t remember the lady in front. In the second row Caroline Bos (Art Historian UN Studio), Olaf Gipser (Main Studio Tutor), official from Asmterdam, Caroline (Architect with OveArup London).