THE FORM FOUNDATION

Skills and passion, combined with using state of the art computer software, is the basis for THE FORM FOUNDATION. An architecture office specialised in complex geometries and computational research. Whether you’re a private client or large developer, our intelligent design and use of digital fabrication methods can turn complex projects into cost efficient pearls.

EXPERIENCE

With years of experience in large and small scale high profile and complex projects THE FORM FOUNDATION is your perfect partner for complicated and innovative projects.
The use of high end software allows us to give you a detailed and optimised design early in the project. Have a look our experience.

WORK WITH US

We would love to work on one of your projects. If you have a job in which you need passionate and skilled designers, please contact us. If you have any questions or comments we have a convenient contact form, or just give us a call today. We are looking forward to working with you! Contact us

BRINKMANN PASSAGE, HAARLEM

Client: Burgfonds
Status: Ongoing

The Brinkmannpassage is a large retail area interwoven in between monumental buildings in the historic centre of Haarlem. We are currently working on feasibility studies for temporary renting opportunities and mass studies on possible future development.

CANOPY, OSS

Client: Private
Status: Built
Construction: VORMGRIP, Amsterdam

In this project 3D modeling was essential. To match the curved straw roof of the existing building the design resulted in a doubly curved copper canopy. From the 3D computer model all ribs and bracings were cut by waterjet. This results in being able to construct a doubly curved canopy with exact measurements. The copper epoxy finish gives the canopy a seamless and monolithic appearance whilst blending right in with the curved straw roofing of the building.

WALK-IN SHOWER

Client: Private
Status: Built
Production: Arte di Granito

In between two rooms a walk-in shower was created. A three door wardrobe functions as the separation element between the bedroom and the shower. By using the MODULUS range by Arte, a modular range of bathroom tiles and sinks, a very minimalist walk-in shower is created. The resulting division of the walls make for an ergonomic, and because of the absence of joints, hygienic shower. All matt glass tiles are coated to prevent chalk and dirt from adhering. Silestone matt plates are used for the floor.

OPEN FORT 400

Client: Competition organised by City of Amsterdam, Ymere and NAi
Status: Runner-up

The competition was an open call for ideas/designs for a building and public domain on the North-West banks of the Amsterdam IJ. The assignment was to create an open fort that will act as an attractor for the surrounding area, based on Fort Amsterdam, the fort based in New Amsterdam (New York) 400 years ago.

An amalgamation of silos, referring to the industrial surrounding, is excavated by a series of voids which form a labyrinth of public functions. The silos hereby become buffers of programme around the open public spaces. Because the silos are based on a hexagonal grid a very rigid and efficient structure is formed which allows for a multitude of uses and subdivisions. The curved facades maximise the views towards the water.

MODULUS

Client: Wellness by Arte
Status: Ongoing

A modular system for sanitary spaces based on human scale and ergonomics. The modular system is based on the dimensions of sinks, showers, taps and divides wall and floor surfaces accordingly. With a small range of tile sizes any configuration can be created. This also means construction time is reduced to a fraction of using standard tile sizes. The result is a large surface, minimalist design based on high comfort, high hygiene and low maintenance. Tiles can be made out of Silestone and are available in a broad range of colours or out of glass, with a matt or glossy finish, and available in any RAL colour.

EO WIJERS

Client: EO Wijers competition
Team: with Ulysses Sengupta, SoftGrid London
Status: Unbuilt

Existing:
Green Heart - Typically defined as the non-space between and separating the urban centres. Cities, as organisms, continue to grow and the pressure increases on the less defined space. The only action is defensive.
Proposed:
Green Heart - A recognisable alternative green organism. A cultural, ecological, leisure and tourism income augmented economically viable alternative place with clean air, water and organically grown produce. A place for well-being. A place with history, culture and the arts. An alternative, but equally strong organism to the urban centres.

COMPACTUS OFFICE ELECTRO

Client: Bruynzeel Storage
Status: Built
Award: AIT Innovationspreis “Architecture and Office”

One-touch operation of the touch pad provides unparalleled ease of operation of the Compactus Office Electro - even if you have your hands full. A single, gentle touch is all that is needed to provide smooth and high speed access to the spacious interior of this storage unit.
THE FORM FOUNDATION provided a one-off design with silk screen printed glass panels. Because the movable system only has one corridor it is essentially a massive storage unit. Printing the folders on the glass panels blurs the distinction between its inside and outside, making the Compactus a functional, space efficient and elegant addition to the work floor.

PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE

Client: Competition by the Dublin Docklands Authority
Engineer: Arup BG4, London
Team: with Ulysses Sengupta, SoftGrid London
Status: Unbuilt

The proposal aims to mould a living, working piece of cityscape that provides an addition to the city’s expansion into the Docklands. To provide for both stability and a place to overlook the river, the bridge is widened above the bridge pillars.

In order for the bridge to allow boats to pass it opens up, much like a Japanese fan. Rigid strips connected by tension cables form a surface in closed position. In opening position the cable relax and fold in between the bridge’s support columns.

The ambiguity of closing by opening combined with lightness and elegance creates an image that is both sensational and very familiar.

HIGH DENSITY HOUSING

EUROPAN
Client: Competition by Europan
Team: Rolf Demmler, SoftGrid Shanghai & Ulysses Sengupta, SoftGrid London
Status: Unbuilt

The brief asked for a multi-functional building for the campus of Graphisoft.
By shifting two volumes in height, the usable space can be doubled. Hereby a building is created which is adaptable to a multitude of functions and sizes.

GRAPHISOFT

GRAPHISOFT
Client: Competition by Graphisoft
Team: with Ulysses Sengupta, SoftGrid London & Laszlo Fecske, BAND
Status: Unbuilt

The brief asked for a multi-functional building for the campus of Graphisoft.
By shifting two volumes in height, the usable space can be doubled. Hereby a building is created which is adaptable to a multitude of functions and sizes.

OFFICE OPTIMISER

“What if...?” Every one of us asked him- or herself that question at one point in their lives. Instead of guessing about an alternate history, why not create an informed present? What if you could compare thousands of options for your office building in a glance?
Office buildings are subject to a large series of rules and regulations and come in a variety of sizes. They're usually designed by making an estimated guess based on experience with similar buildings in the past. But what if the past versions weren’t the best possible versions out there? As a client you have to trust your architect’s estimated guess is coming close to the most optimised version possible. In other words; start a project with single digit profit margins based on assumptions. Needless to say, this is not acceptable for us. It made us pose the question: “What if we can generate thousands of options within the given bandwidth so our client knows for a fact he gets the best deal?” Hence, the OFFICE OPTIMISER:
link all design parameter to each other, run an algorithm, generate output in the form of thousands of options and make it comparable in a spreadsheet. What if we use a floor system which is only 40cm thick and can therefore shorten the staircase so we increase lettable floor area? What if we use a different facade, will this influence the glass line correction? What if we use a different bay width? All of these options (and many more) can be tested and combined after which the GFA’s, NFA’s, LFS, facade to floor area ratio, etc. can be compared. Since all output is shown in a spreadsheet, why not hand it to your cost expert and get a construction price in no time?
What if...you let us handle your next office design?

STRUCTURAL SKIN

In this experiment about flexible structures, a double helical rib configuration was developed to surmount the typical descriptive issues associated with orthogonal ribs in curvilinear forms. Because each rib curves and bends around the entire object, a great deal of research was conducted to find a material which is flexible, can operate both in compression and tension, AND has a low toxicity for fabrication with a lasercutter. Ultimately, LEXAN, a polyethylene product manufactured by GE (think of bulletproof glass) was selected for its modus of elasticity and non-toxicity. The outcome of the research was a structural skin without any adhesive connections, only male female fasteners which allow the object to contract and expand with manipulation.

MOVABLE STRUCTURE - AIR TUBES

The AIR TUBES negotiate air intensities. It is an agglomeration of inflatable tubes which react to their surroundings, thereby rendering a series of formations ranging from a wallowing effect to a controlled environment. From an experienced, perceived, felt unpredictability to a static certainty. The constantly changing tubes give its visitor a perpetually different experience to study, to touch, to participate, to dream away, to alter, to engage in. The AIR TUBES are built up out of two inner tubes which have an opposite curvature. The joint pressure of the inner tubes defines the direction, curvature and shape of the overall folly. By varying/regulating the pressure in both inner tubes a multitude of shapes can be formed. The inner tubes are covered by canvas, as used on trucks and trailers. The recycled nature of the material, company logos already being present on the canvasses make it a great opportunity for low cost construction and marketing.

BELLE VAN ZUYLEN

Client: Burgfonds

Pim van Wylick worked for de Architekten Cie. as a project architect on the Belle van Zuylen, a 262 meter high multi-functional tower in Leidsche Rijn, Utrecht. The tower combines state of the art sustainable design by combining different programmatic functions in one tower in order to reduce its carbon footprint. Each function requires its own lay-out and surface area. Stacking those functions results in a hyperboloid design, a shape which creates a holistic structure and reduces sensitivity to wind.

NATIONAL STADIUM BEIJING

Pim van Wylick worked as senior architect for Herzog & de Meuron on the National Stadium Beijing, the main stadium for the Olympic Games in Beijing 2008. He was responsible for the development of the roof layout, the so-called “Bird’s Nest”. A spatial grid-like formation in which primary, secondary and stair beams of facade and roof are integrated. In close collaboration with the structural engineers he defined the design parameters and developed a parametric 3D model. He then moved to Herzog & de Meuron’s Beijing office to attend all relevant design meetings with local architects and contractors. Here he reviewed and approved all architectural and structural roof drawings to ensure the successful construction of the National Stadium’s roof and facades.

ARCHITECTURAL ASSOCIATION LONDON

Design Research Laboratory, Graduate School of Design, a post-academic course which focused on responsive environments. Instead of reducing responsive environments to a kinetic, mobile form of architecture, Florian Busch, Manuael Vizcaino de la Pena and Pim van Wylick worked with the implications of spatio-temporality in movement and animation in architecture in order to move towards an understanding of the architectural office as ‘responsive’ process.

OFFICE FOR METROPOLITAN ARCHITECTURE

Working on the design for Prada San Francisco, Pim van Wylick worked on refinement of the design, from the advancement of design concepts through models and drawings, to an intense involvement in creating technical drawings. On the house in the Bahamas, Pim researched new material and construction methods for the project, which was in a remote location.

WHERE WE ARE

If you would like to meet face to face, make an appointment and come and visit us on the Amstelveenseweg 157 in Amsterdam.