Review | November Talks in March | Ben van Berkel in Milan

Ben van Berkel, owner of the world-renowned architectural firm UN Studio, closed the 6th edition of the Milan November Conferences 2017 on March 13th. Van Berkel’s aim was to discuss the role of computational tools in the design process. Rather than focusing on the parametric nature underlined by the designs promoted during the previous lectures, Ben van Berkel made statements about the necessity to achieve in certain measures what he defined the “sensorial adaptive architecture”. To do so, the lecture was permeated by the techniques, the digital tools and, above all, the ultimate sensations, provided by the Arnhem Station, a design started 20 years ago and finished in 2015. The development, which took the place on the largest post-war site in Arnhem, became in the last years the new “front door” of the city, integrating different types of transportation and embracing the idea of travelling in time and space. The idea “of a transfer machine” was translated by UN Studio in a continuous inside/outside surface of a Klein Bottle, with the final goal to blur distinctions between the inside and the outside of the terminal by working with the sloped terrain of the context and continuing it as it would be a bigger and twisted hill.

The new ideas of Ben van Berkel, along with its theoretical and practical approach, led its practice to envision spaces where the range of comfort is higher than the actual buildings. The practice design process is defined by the architect as “non-parametric”, because he thinks at the architectural process as a way to provide a set of values, such as safety and sustainability. This eco-system of ideas, that goes from the sketch to the construction phases, is translated by the practice into some fixed points on top of which construct the whole architecture.

Talking about digital and fabrication tools, van Berkel highlights the structure of this “transportation hub”, defined by twisted columns only made possible by abandoning the traditional construction methods and materials. Despite his initial reluctance of constructing with steel, the latter replaced the concrete structure initially intended for the station in order to reduce the thickness of the elements as well as the building operation time. The result is a space without columns designed around the pedestrian ways that people can intuitively follow to move from one part to another inside the station.

Ben van Berkel synthetic lecture concluded with a wide and rich question time, in order for the public to ask about his practice projects, his philosophy and also his future intentions. The audience welcomed the idea to share their intuitions about the control of the space, especially in projects like the Arnhem Station, where they discovered the Moebius like shape of the double curve geometry in the central space envisioned by UN Studio not just because of the interesting link between the futuristic shape and the idea to travel in space, but also because of its way to share structural forces. In the second part of the lecture, Ben van Berkel gave the audience the chance to understand the type of physical space he intended when he produces architectural concept. Space is considered in different ways, that he called “a kaleidoscope experience of space”, which meant to be every time diverse and subject-oriented. The fascination for engineering goes along with the centralisation of the user. In the Arnhem Station itself, the idea of a “sensorial space” is enhanced by the intense use of natural light that come through the “V” shape concrete columns and enter from the several transparent facades of the centre. Thanks to the feeble line between indoor and outdoor space, the station “stretches the realm beyond just mobility”, allowing the building to be enjoyed by the whole community. What happens all around us? In which way we could use technologies to improve the indoor environment? Ben van Berkel greeting the audience leaving open those questions, with the promise to come back in the future.

Interview with Ben van Berkel

The Video can be found on our YouTube-Channel.