Suarpha Vangvasu

Heritage & Architecture

Pedestrian entrance to the new Hertzberger Quartier

Hertzberger Quartier

In the redevelopment of Centraal Beheer office building by Herman Hertzberger, an icon of Structuralism architecture, the architect needs to assessing cultural value in two aspects; general design philosophies of structuralism architecture ‘humanist-based design’; specific design ideas and languages of Centraal Beheer. The two design philosophies that influence physical appearances of Centraal Beheer the most is ‘Individuality and social interaction’

From the research, Structuralism architects looked at their building only as a framework. Providing a set of structures; supporting system, overall design composition and competence for users to complete the building with their own preference.

‘Users are my co-designers’ - Herman Hertzberger

In this project, I position myself as Herman Hertzberger’s co-design who will interpret the original design of Centraal Beheer to meet the requirements of proposed functions under the original frameworks by Herman Hertzberger and structuralism design philosophies.  

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Master thesis (Repository)