ABSTRACT
Volumetric definition of a building mass reflects the negotiation that takes place between internal and external domains, realms that are never one and the same. In this, the volume both hints and hides. Alluding to the essential character of a private arts organization that offers space for both the making and experiencing of contemporary art, the proposal for Amant investigates formal expression that oscillates between articulation and ambiguity. Blowdryers shrink latex over ferrous frames and foamcore volumes, resulting in an array of formal conditions. The variations developed into a language of double-curved surfaces, implying certain types of structural efficiency as well as construction methods through their geometric logic. The digital translation, ostensibly a simulation of material behavior, freed the geometry of several physical constraints while introducing a set of its own. Diederik Veenendaal is a building engineer of the BLOCK research group at ETH, researching fabric formwork techniques.
