Screen

‘Meerzicht’ is one of the seventeen temporary houses that were constructed as part of the architecture competition Living temporarily in Almere.
The creative use of materials and alternative energy such as solar energy, wind energy and water energy were some of the design criteria.
In the ‘Meerzicht’ house both active and passive solar energy were used. Because of the temporary character, the mass of the house had to be kept light, which adversely influenced the comfort. For that reason passive solar energy is not an optimal source for heating. A heat accumulating screen set up behind the west glass facade, would be an important improvement.
In February 1993 Trudy Kunkeler was commissioned to make such a ‘screen’ by Bart Jan van den Brink, designer and resident of ‘Meerzicht’. In 1992 Kunkeler made a ceramic screen (see above) for Jan Wagenaar who, together with Hans Weijsenfeld, designed the stilt house ‘Above sea level’, another house in the same project. In 2002 she made a ceramic screen/wall for a private commissioner in Andorra.