Architecture competition Amber Road Trekking Cabin Honorable mention - Jos Burger, Wouter Keijzer and Bas Schrooten

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the winners of the Honorable mention of our “Amber Road Trekking Cabin” competition -Jos Burger, Wouter Keijzer and Bas Schrooten from Netherlands!

Jos Burger, Wouter Keijzer and Bas Schrooten from Netherlands

BK. Architecten is a Dutch architectural studio founded in 2008 by Jos Burger and Wouter Keijzer. Before founding the studio Jos and Wouter worked together in several courses during their architectural studies at the Technical University of Delft. The studio is based in the historical center of Utrecht - in the Netherlands. At the moment we are working with a team of 5 enthusiastic young architects.

As a studio we focus on multi-scale architecture, both interior and exterior. The projects we are working on at the moment are mostly dwelling projects, but we also have a penchant for building history and the conservation of cultural heritage. Our most known projects are the project ‘Waanders In de Broeren’, a renovation of a 15th century church (the ‘Broerenkerk’) to a bookshop, and restaurant of approximately 1300m2 and the project ‘the Old Library’. A renovation of the former library of the Technical University of Delft (build 1915) to an offshore training centre.

At this moment we are working on the design for a new build 6-apartment dwelling block with a restaurant in the historical centre of the Dutch city Alphen aan den Rijn.

What does architecture mean to you and what is the role of an architect in your society?

In the process of designing and building we want to showcase our enthusiasm for architecture and share this with our clients. By listening to our clients and defining their wishes we start every process with a clear concept. For us the end result of a project has to be a product of collaboration between the client and us. We want to be involved in every step of the designing and building process, from sketch to delivery. With our young and open-minded look on architecture we aren’t trapped in any patterns. This keeps us searching for creative solutions in every part of the designing process.

Why do you participate in architecture vision competitions?

Participating in a competition means team building. It’s pizza nights, out of the box thinking, improving your skills on making concepts, visualizing and storytelling. It’s a chance to get involved in other types of projects, different from those you work on every day.

What advice would you give to individuals who struggle to decide whether it would be beneficial for them to participate in architecture vision competitions?

See above. It brings you all the fun you can find being an architect.