CURRENTS

CURRENTS is an extension to the historic clubhouse of LAGA along the Schie in Delft, designed to connect past and future through architecture. Rooted in the expressive language of the Amsterdamse School, the proposal continues LAGA’s monumental brick identity with rhythmic arches, crafted masonry, and gridded windows, while opening the building toward the water with transparency and light. The new ecological research centre transforms LAGA into a place for research, education, and public engagement, where greenery flows through open interior spaces and sightlines highlight the heritage of the original clubhouse. By blending expressive brickwork, timber structure, and ecological programming, CURRENTS creates a dialogue between history, craftsmanship, and sustainability.

The project embraces circular construction by reusing and recycling materials from the 1990s extension and the site itself. Existing brick façades are partially cut and reintegrated into the new arched masonry, while remaining bricks are recycled into new brickwork. Sand-lime bricks are repurposed into mortar, HEA beams are reused to open up the historic interior and raise the canopy, and insulation boards and timber elements are given new life in the façade, roof, and interior finishes. Locally sourced Douglas trees form the structural columns, with all offcuts transformed into wood-fiber insulation. Through this approach, the old is not only preserved, it is physically embedded into the new, reinforcing both heritage and ecological responsibility.