first architent steals show at lowlands

Last weekend, the Dutch music and culture festival Lowlands was organized for the 27th time. “A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise” as the event is fully called, had a special touch this year. The winning design of the very first Lowlands x BNA ArchiTenten Challenge received an honorary podium. The organization of Lowlands and BNA (Royal Institute of Dutch Architects) initiated this challenge to end the troubling pattern of disposable pop-up tents. The jury’s request for an innovative and especially sustainable festival tent received no fewer than 66 fresh and renewing ideas. With an ingenious proposal, Jasper Manders (32), construction engineer at cepezed, won this very first ArchiTenten Challenge at the beginning of June.

Manders’ winning design is a two-person festival tent that can be connected together in a series to create one big interior space. The tent has no guy ropes and only needs a few rogue pegs. And with openings at the two ends, the air circulation cools the tent. Also nice: you can lie, sit and stand in it. Together with manufacturer Karsten Tenten, Manders developed and realized the design. A configuration of five tents (for ten people) was presented at Lowlands last weekend. The entire jury was present, including Lowlands director Eric van Eerdenburg and BNA director Fred Schoorl.

“I think it was a great initiative from Lowlands and BNA and a nice collaboration with Karsten Tenten, I am looking forward to a possible next edition”, Manders concludes the ArchiTenten Challenge.