Uri Ben-Ari is an independent architect and researcher living in Eindhoven since 2007. His work currently tackles urban research methods, from mapping and evaluating patterns of growth, through analyzing existing planning policies, and offering site-specific, pragmatic courses of action. He considers himself a mediator, linking visions with real-time requirements and behavior.
Ben-Ari is the initiator and co-curator of Instatements, a physical and virtual platform that seeks to redefine adaptive reuse and redevelopment, based on ex-industrial buildings, their historic versus contemporary prototypes and their significance with regard to the city centre.

3.5.10

Fietshalte/W neighborhood version 2010


with Gil Molho, Hessel Rippe
dimensions 6.6 x 3 x 3.5 meters
materials steel volume sheets & tubes, wood, polycarbonate

Developed with the assistance of the City of Eindhoven, this prototype takes the bike station back to its primary location - a residential setting, connecting the edge of the neighborhood with an outlying green corridor. Made of a series of steel volume segments and surrounded by variable seating positions, this compact and robust version of Fietshalte/W offers residents and commuters an attractive meeting point, info-box and base from which to explore the area, starting with three converging streets.


ten questions

architecture, so they tell us, is actually more about asking questions than providing answers. Here's ten of them:

Where does the built environment overlap with the un-built, the public spaces, the leftovers, the in-between?
Can the architectural discourse be influenced by non-architects, and if so, how?
What are the key factors in erecting a new building - or reusing an existing one?
In what way does architecture portray the identity of place?
Who are the forces behind today's monumental architecture? What is the extent of architectural research in any design process?
What are the up-and-coming tools of the trade, what do they express and which of them has effectively upgraded conventional, 'old-school' methods?
How is 'green' influencing today's buildings and cities?
To what limits, or on what scale should sustainable, eco-friendly elements be implemented as architectural requirements?
Will the sustainable issue stay on as a permanent factor in the future?