'Art Meets Science & Spirituality' Office, Amsterdam.

This project, for which the Architect's Studio Enno Wiersma was the architect, may have been the first time in recent years, that adobe plaster was used in the Netherlands. Carl Giskes was mainly responsible for the building of the interior work. 


Since Egyptian antiquity art, science and spirituality were the foundation of culture and could not be considered separately. The organization of 'Art meets Science and Spirituality' sets as its main goal the reunion of these categories. For that purpose it organized a symposium mainly in the Stedelijk Museum of Amsterdam, where artist, scientist and spiritual leaders of great renown met and where an audience could watch the fruit of their conversation. This congress took place in the summer of 1990.

Weteringschans 10 was to become the permanent address and the office space was remodeled in 1989. Plans were made from the beginning of that year and gradually executed. The project has a central core with kitchen and working-space for a secretary, which is covered with a canopy. On top of this roof a model is placed, that was meant for an adobe pavilion. This pavilion was going to be built on the Museumplein in Amsterdam as part of the manifestation and was to be used to locate a part of the symposium and other activities. The German mud-house specialist Klaus Eckert made the design among others. Although the project wasn't realized, the model could be well viewed, even from below, since the canopy has an opening in its center. 

From the beginning of the project it was clear, that the walls were going to be plastered with a mud plaster. Existing walls were meticulously cleaned of cement-based plaster and covered with a thick layer of mud plaster. The mixture for this was made on site and clay put together with sand and fine cut straw. An old workman, who saw no difficulty in plastering inside corners of walls and ceiling in a round fashion, did the actual plastering. "Yes, with a milk-bottle," was his response to such request. The walls of the natural earth color were painted white upon request of the client Louwrien Wijers, the instigator of the 'Art meets...' project and promoter of earth architecture. This painting, as the other painting of the project, was done with natural paints, so to allow the earth-plaster to breath.

The realization of this mud-plaster may be the first in the Netherlands in recent years. This mixing 'on site' is the very beginning of mixing the ingredients, sand, clay with chopped straw.


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