Archipelago Wins AIA's Next LA Honor Award

The Archipelago, a proposal for 400 houses in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, was honored with a AIA National Emerging Architecture Award and an AIA Next LA Honor Award. The project was exhibited at the American Institute of Architects 2012 National Convention, DC, US.

Developed in collaboration with CO-LAB and PAR, our proposal for the Leeuwarden Kanaalzone provides a new framework for an urban geography where the best elements from both the natural landscape and project program create a unique condition for living on the water. The framework enables an organization of housing program that is flexible and varied, envisioning a district where history and future, density and openness, identity and diversity coexist. The resulting spatial experience fluctuates between variation and continuity while relating to the canalized way of life in the Fryslân region.