project08:P2 NEW

Problem statement:

The amount of startups in the Netherlands is growing, but yet the likelihood of the average startup becoming a scale-up (full-fledged company) remains the same. Incubators tremendously increase the startups odds of surviving by training them the ins and outs of starting a business. Proper networking is a crucial aspect that the startups have to learn to survive. The startups are too small and lack funding to do everything on their own and therefore require help, either from other startups, experts or freelancers. Networking possibilities can be stimulated through architecture, by space itself shaping the way and amount of times users interact with each other. The growth and the life expectancy of startups however is very unstable, having an incubator that allows to cope with this uncertainty can benefit both the owner and the client.

 

Problems

• Increasing amount of startups each year
• Startups can barely survive financially without collaboration.
• 90% of the startups don’t survive in the first 3 years.
• Startups growth and life expectancy is very unstable.
• Startups require a network of expertise to thrive.

 

Research questions

• How can architecture help increase a startup survival rate?
  • How to spatially promote collaboration between startups?
  • How to spatially and aesthetically stimulate the user’s creativity and productivity?
  • How to attract more knowledge to the incubator?
  • How can startups grow within a building?
  • How to reduce monthly expenses for startups?
• How to passively make the design more sustainable?

 

Design assignment in which these result:

 

A startup incubator of 6500-7000 m² that:

• Provides spaces for startups, students, artists, investors and freelancers.
• Optimizes the amount of possible interaction scenarios while also providing spaces for privacy.
• Programmatically provides the users to find their own optimal work spaces.
• Spatially and aesthetically stimulates productivity, collaboration and creativity among the users.
• Allows startups to grow within the building.
• Address the notion of embedded interactive systems employed for spatial reconfiguration and climate control, CO2 reduction, and distributed and renewable energy production.
• That acts as the heart of the Amsterdam Science Park attracting surrounding people to use its program and help increase the flow of information.