Laser-cut stainless steel creates an intricately patterned surface on the walls of this upgraded metro station in Amsterdam by architecture firm Maccreanor Lavington (+ slideshow).
Maccreanor Lavington‘s Rotterdam studio overhauled the 1970s Kraaiennest station in the Bijlmermeer neighbourhood of Amsterdam, increasing its capacity and modernising its facilities.
The decorative steel screens surround the new ground-level entrance, allowing natural light to filter inside during the day. After dark, lights glowing from within transform the structure into a glowing beacon that makes it easy for locals to find.
“At night time the design allows the station to be a lantern for the local neighbourhood,” said the architect in a statement.
As well as the laser-cut panels surrounding the base of the station, the opaque upper walls are also made from stainless steel. The architect says this material will age well and need little maintenance.
Unlike the old station, which only offered stairs, the new facility incorporates a series of escalators to transport passengers up to the platform. This will help it offer regular transport to around 100,000 local residents.
The upgraded Kraaiennest station is the latest in a series of infrastructure improvements underway in the 1960s neighbourhood. It follows the 2008 completion of Grimshaw’s Bijlmer Station, which was shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize.
Here’s a project description from Maccreanor Lavington:
New €14 million Metro Station completed in Amsterdam
London and Rotterdam based architecture firm, Maccreanor Lavington has completed a major new metro station in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
The new 550m² station and 1,880m² platform in the neighbourhood of Bijlmermeer started on site in 2010 and sits on the site of the original station, built in 1970.
The metro station features a ground level entrance with new escalators to take passengers up to the platforms, a major improvement for citizens as the old station only had stairs. The ground level entrance provides the main focal point of the station with an elegant stainless steel facade with a floral design. The laser cut design allows plenty of natural light to flow through the entrance, helping the passenger journey to seamlessly flow from the external surroundings into the station.
At night time the design allows the station to be a lantern for the local neighbourhood, creating a sense of warmth on street level and creating an instantly recognisable feature for the station. The architects’ chose stainless steel for the external facade due to its durability and low maintenance enabling the station not to need constant upkeep.
Since the beginning of the late 1990s the area has seen massive investment transforming it from its previous negative public opinion and now making it a thriving suburb of Amsterdam.
Now completed, the station will be in use by over 100,000 residents in Bijlmermeer, a vast increase on the number of users from when the station first opened and completes one of the biggest urban regeneration projects in Europe in recent history.
Rem Koolhaas’ OMA has completed the new Amsterdam headquarters of Dutch denim brand G-Star RAW, which features a concrete shell, a glass core and a hangar-like facade that slides open (+ slideshow).
Located beside the A10 motorway in Amsterdam’s industrial Zuidoost district, the G-Star RAW HQ was designed by OMA to embody the rough-and-ready aesthetic of the brand’s military-inspired clothing, using stark materials and bulky volumes.
The 140-metre-long building sits over a large plinth that raises it up to the level of the road. It is wrapped by a dark concrete frame that houses the supporting facilities, while the central section is a row of glass boxes that contain the company’s creative departments.
Described by the architects as a “creative nucleus”, this section comprises a number of staggered floor plates and double-height spaces.
It also includes a flexible multi-purpose zone that the brand can use for large-scale production, fashion shows or parties.
This 20-metre-high space is fronted by sliding glass doors – sourced from an aircraft hangar manufacturer – that allow it to be either fully contained or exposed to the outside.
“The shifting facade and changing uses of the RAW Space, together with the various possible uses of the plinth, will create a constantly varying appearance reflecting the inner dynamism of G-Star RAW,” said OMA in a statement.
One glass box projects out from the facade to cantilever over the building’s entrance, creating a series of showrooms. This is surrounded by visitor facilities that offer framed views into the creative areas beyond.
The building is completed by a large G-Star RAW logo that stretches across the facade as if it were a billboard.
Photography is courtesy of OMA.
Here’s the project description from the architects:
G-Star RAW HQ
Situated next to the A10 in the industrial Zuidoost area of Amsterdam, the new HQ for G-Star RAW will consolidate G-Star RAW’s disparate facilities into a single building that aims to stimulate interaction between various departments.
The 27,500m2 horizontal building – 140 metres long – consists of a creative nucleus containing the core departments of G-Star RAW, which are enveloped by a ring of offices, parking and support facilities. The distinction between the support activities and the creative core is heightened through contrasting materials – a monolithic solidity rendered in black concrete for the ring, while the creative core is visible through the glass facade. The lower part of the ring forms a plinth for parking and drop off; the plinth also provides a location for installations and events.
The main entrance is situated at the level of the plinth and is underneath a cantilevered glass box that houses G-Star’s showrooms. This end of the building, distinct from the inner workings of G-Star, is dedicated to visitors; however there is still exposure of these inner workings through controlled views and access.
Inside the creative core of the building, staggered floor plates and double-height spaces promote a dynamic exchange between the different creative departments allowing for cross communication. The RAW-space, a flexible multi-use zone, either open to the outside or concealed behind sliding hangar-type doors, provides a space for work and production, parties, and fashion shows. Oriented towards the A10, the shifting facade and changing uses of the RAW-space, together with the various possible uses of the plinth, will create a constantly varying appearance reflecting the inner dynamism of G-Star RAW.
Project: headquarters for Dutch international fashion brand G-Star Status: Construction Clients: G-Star RAW C.V. Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands Site: industrial regeneration area in southeast Amsterdam next to A10 ring road Program: offices and creative spaces (19,000m2) and parking (8,500m2)
Partners-in-charge: Rem Koolhaas, Reinier de Graaf, Ellen van Loon
Current team (construction + interiors): Katrien van Dijk (project leader), Tjeerd van de Sandt, Saskia Simon, Marina Cogliani, Jung-Won Yoon
Team (interiors concept): Saskia Simon (project leader), Marlies Boterman, Marina Cogliani, Karolina Czeczek, Green van Gogh, Sarah Moylan, Mafalda Rangel, Tjeerd van de Sandt
Team (SD/DD/TD): Richard Hollington III (associate in charge), Tjeerd van de Sandt (project leader), Fred Awty, Philippe Braun, Kaveh Dabiri, Katrien van Dijk, Hans Hammink, Mariano Sagasta, Koen Stockbroekx
Team (competition): Richard Hollington III (associate in charge), Fred Awty, Philippe Braun, Rob Daurio, David Gianotten, Shabnam Hosseini, Andreas Kofler, Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli, Lawrence Siu
An angular metal-clad canopy now projects over a public square at the entrance to Rotterdam Centraal station, which reopened last week following an extensive remodelling by a team including Dutch firm Benthem Crouwel Architects (+ slideshow).
A project team called Team CS, comprising Benthem Crouwel Architects, MVSA Architects and landscape firm West 8, was tasked with redeveloping the existing station built in 1957, which was struggling to meet the demands of a modern transportation hub.
The architects expanded the main station complex and updated the surrounding public spaces to improve the building’s integration with its urban context.
“The new station is not only larger, brighter and more orderly than the former, but also has an international feel; it beautifully complements both the efficiency of the hi-speed stop and Rotterdam city’s bold ambitions for urban development and renewal,” said the architects in a statement.
A modest entrance on the north side of the station reflects the character of its historic surroundings and the smaller number of passengers who use it, while the shiny canopy above the main entrance signals the station’s presence to those approaching from the city.
“The roof of the hall, fully clad with stainless steel, gives rise to the building’s iconic character and points to the heart of the city,” said the architects.
The underside of the projecting structure is partly clad in wood and envelops a glazed wall that opens up to a bright forecourt with an angular wooden ceiling.
“The wood finish on the inside of the hall, combined with the structural wooden beams of the platform roof creates a warm and welcoming ambience, inviting visitors to linger,” the architects added.
Stone floor slabs with a reddish hue continue from the esplanade into the station’s forecourt, helping to enhance the connection between the external and internal spaces.
Parking for 750 cars and 5200 bicycles is hidden away underneath the esplanade. Meanwhile, services for buses, taxis and trams, have been relocated to free up space for pedestrians.
The roof above the platforms is made from glass so passengers arrive into an airy space filled with natural daylight. Light also reaches the lower levels through large voids containing staircases and escalators.
Solar panels partly covering the roof have a high level of transparency to prevent them reducing the amount of light entering the station.
A narrow horizontal LED screen in the main hall was donated by the Port of Rotterdam and displays imagery relating to the city’s heritage as an important port.
Photography is by Jannes Linders, apart from where otherwise stated.
Here’s some more information from the project team:
Rotterdam Centraal
Rotterdam Centraal Station is one of the most important transport hubs in The Netherlands. With 110,000 passengers a day the public transport terminal has as many travellers as Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. In addition to the European network of the High Speed Train (HST), Rotterdam Centraal is also connected to the light rail system, RandstadRail. With the advent of both the HST and RandstadRail the number of daily travellers at Rotterdam Centraal is expected to increase to approximately 323,000 by 2025.
Rotterdam HST is the first stop in the Netherlands when travelling from the south and is strategically positioned in the middle of Europe, with Schiphol only twenty minutes and Paris a mere two and a half hours away. Hence the new station is not only larger, brighter and more orderly than the former, but also has an international feel; it beautifully complements both the efficiency of the Hispeed stop and the Rotterdam city’s bold ambitions for urban development and renewal. The station matches in all respects the practicality, capacity, comfort and allure, of the central stations of Madrid, Paris, London and Brussels.
Integration in urban environment
One of the fundamental challenges of Rotterdam Centraal station was the difference in the urban character of the north and south side of the station. The entrance on the north side has a modest design, appropriate to the character of the neighbourhood Provenierswijk and the smaller number of passengers. The entrance gradually connects to the city. In the Provenierswijk the character of the 19th-century Dutch provincial town is strengthened. Large architectural extensions are avoided on this side of the station, the presence of green is ameliorated and the station is transparent.
In contrast, the grand entrance on the city side is clearly the gateway to the high-rise urban centre. Here the station derives its new international, metropolitan identity from the hall made of glass and wood. The roof of the hall, fully clad with stainless steel, gives rise to building’s iconic character and points to the heart of the city.
Now Rotterdam Centraal has the appropriate structure and dimensions for the urban landscape; it is in balance with the heights that characterise the metropolis and simultaneously reflects the human scale. The city of Rotterdam is drawn to the new station via the compaction of the small-scale urban texture surrounding the public transport terminal. The entire railway zone becomes one with the city. This finer urban texture with new sight lines and a mixture of living and working will dramatically improve the quality of life and the environment of the station area.
The esplanade in front of the station is a continuous public space. To achieve this simplicity a parking garage for 750 cars and a bicycle shed for 5,200 bicycles are located under the square. The tram station is moved to the east side of the station, so the platforms broaden the square. Bus, tram, taxi and the area for short-term parking are integrated into the existing urban fabric and do not constitute barriers. The red stone of the station floor continues into the forecourt, merging the station with the city. Pedestrian and cycling routes are pleasant and safe and arriving travellers now have dignified entrance to the city, free from traffic.
Incorporation of natural light, the warmth of the sun’s rays and a modern look are important elements in the design. The platform roof on the Proveniersside is transparent. When the train drives into the station, there is an almost tangible feeling of being enshrouded in the station building. Upon entering in the bright high hall through the centre side, the traveler gets an overview of the entire complex and a view to the trains that are waiting invitingly along the platforms.
The wood finish on the inside of the hall, combined with the structural wooden beams of the platform roof creates a warm and welcoming ambience, inviting visitors to linger. The largely transparent roof structure which covers all the tracks over a length of 250 meters, flood the platforms with light. The glass plates of the roof vary the level of light transmittance by utilising different solar cells patterns, which produce an ever-changing and fascinating play of shadows on the platforms.
The routing through the station is logical; travellers are guided by a direct view of the trains and by the daylight that penetrates to the traveler’s passage via the voids that extend through the transparent roof platform and down to the stairs. Because of its transparency the widened traveler’s passage, lined with commercial functions, forms a natural part of the station. Escalators, lifts and stairs lead up to the new platforms, which feature inviting and comfortable platform furniture. On the west side of the station there is a footbridge over the tracks for travellers in transit. This footbridge also functions as an escape route in the event of an emergency.
The passenger terminal is a national and international hub that connects train, tram, bus and subway. The public transport terminal is designed for passenger comfort, which is visible in the different zones of the station. It includes commercial spaces, a lounge, restaurants, offices, parking for cars and bicycles. In the spacious concourse the passenger service functions are conveniently arranged. There is travel information, an information point, the Dutch Railways (NS) travellers shop, ticket vending machines and commercial functions. The grand café and the NS-lounge offer spectacular views across the hall and the adjacent tracks. Waiting areas in the hall and the passage are linked to the passenger flows, with areas both for browsing and quick shopping.
The new Rotterdam Centraal Station is a pleasant, open and transparent public transport terminal which functions as an iconic meeting point. Interwoven into the urban network, the station connects the diverse characters of the city and marks the beginning of Rotterdam’s cultural axis. This modern and efficient building offers travellers to and from the port city all the amenities and comfort they could want or need in the present and the future.
Windows with 130,000 solar cells cover 10,000 m2 of the total roof area of 28,000 m2. This is the largest application of solar energy in a station roof in The Netherlands and is also one of the largest rooftop solar projects in Europe. The solar cells are placed on the parts of the roof that get the most sun, taking into account the high buildings around Rotterdam Centraal. The glass panels vary in light transmittance by using different patterns in the solar cells. Where the roof has the greatest efficiency in terms of sunlight, the cell density is the highest. The solar cells that are integrated in the roof have a high degree of transparency, so there is ample light. The solar cells represent an 8% reduction in the station’s CO2 emissions. The cells are expected to generate 320 megawatt per annum, which is enough energy for 100 households.
The former station was designed by Sybold of Ravesteyn in 1957. However, this post-war building was no longer suitable for the current passenger numbers and complexity of the transport hub. In order to maintain the connection with the past after the demolition of the building, several characteristic elements from the former station can be found in the new Rotterdam Centraal. The Speculaasjes, two typical granite sculptures are placed above the access to the bike tunnel. The beginning of the esplanade is defined by two flagpoles, which were also part of the former station. Moreover, the letters ROTTERDAM CENTRAAL and the station clock are proudly displayed on the current façade as a tribute to the past.
In the main hall of the station a LED screen of 40 x 4.5 meters has been installed. To emphasise the importance of the port and to strengthen the bond between the city and the port, the Port of Rotterdam donated the LED screen to the City of Rotterdam. By showing elements of the port on this LED screen, the Port of Rotterdam wants to give the thousands of travellers who arrive daily in Rotterdam the feeling that they have entered a port city, even though the port has slowly disappeared from the cityscape, due to seawards development. Now travellers can enjoy views of Europe’s largest port at all hours and times of the day.
Team CS is a cooperation between Benthem Crouwel Architects, MVSA Meyer en Van Schooten Architecten and West 8. This unique combination of designers came to existence in 2003, when the competition for the new Rotterdam Centraal was issued.
Client: Gemeente Rotterdam and ProRail Architect Team CS: a cooperation between Benthem Crouwel Architects, MVSA Meyer en van Schooten Architecten and West 8 Gross floor area: 46,000 m² Gross floor area urban design: 50,000 m² Location: Stationsplein 1, 3013 AJ Rotterdam, The Netherlands Lead architects: Jan Benthem, Marcel Blom, Adriaan Geuze, Jeroen van Schooten Project team: Arman Akdogan, Anja Blechen, Freek Boerwinkel, Amir Farokhian, Joost Koningen, Joost van Noort, Falk Schneeman, Daphne Schuit, Matthijs Smit (†), Andrew Tang, Wouter Thijssen, Joost Vos Structural engineer: Arcadis and Gemeentewerken Rotterdam Mechanical services: Arcadis and Gemeentewerken Rotterdam Building physics: Arcadis and Gemeentewerken Rotterdam Contractor: Bouwcombinatie TBI Rotterdam Centraal (BTRC), Iemants NV (zuidhal)
Dutch firm Korteknie Stuhlmacher Architecten covered the facade of this school in Rotterdam with black and white tiles arranged in patterns that reference typical Dutch interior decoration (+ slideshow).
The new A.J. Schreuderschool was designed by Korteknie Stuhlmacher Architecten for children with learning disabilities, and the tiled decoration was added to give the exterior spaces a more domestic and familiar appearance.
“The pattern is based on classical patterns used in many traditional Dutch houses for various purposes, usually entrances, and kitchens,” architect Mechthild Stuhlmacher told Dezeen.
“We used the tiles on the exterior as an ornament but also to make the outdoor spaces more room-like, as if we are referring to an interior,” she added.
The architects also invited pupils to create unique colourful tiles that are incorporated into the facade near the entrance.
“We proposed the involvement of the pupils, because we were impressed by the artistic production and the creativity of the mentally handicapped children who happen to be taught by a very engaged, creative art teacher,” said Stuhlmacher. “The black and white pattern has been designed as a rather powerful framework to integrate the pupil’s work in a larger whole.”
The school is situated in the postwar neighbourhood of Lombardijen and was laid out to establish a stronger relationship with its surroundings than the majority of its 1960s-built neighbours.
Two connected buildings housing the classrooms and a large sports hall are positioned on opposite corners of the plot, creating a pair of outdoor spaces that are partly enclosed by the two blocks.
The courtyard facing the street at the front of the school acts as a playground and public square leading to the main entrance.
At the back of the school is a larger space used as a garden for play and teaching activities centred on nature and sustainability.
“The two outdoor spaces have a very different character – one is very open to the neighbourhood while the enclosed garden on the other side is much more private,” explained Stuhlmacher. “For pupils with a mental handicap both qualities are essential, and the school can divide groups according to the abilities of the children.”
Inside the main school building, the reception area connects to a corridor that leads past labs dedicated to skills including art, music and computing, towards classrooms that face the street or the garden.
On the other side of the reception is the entrance to the sports hall, which features windows at floor level and a roof supported by chunky timber beams.
Circulation spaces at the centre of the school feature large skylights that introduce natural light to both levels of the building.
Materials throughout have been chosen for their muted tones and to help reduce noise levels in line with the needs of many pupils for a neutral and tranquil environment.
On the site of a former technical school in Rotterdam Lombardijen a new school for children with learning disabilities has been built. Lombardijen is a typical post-war neighbourhood consisting of a repetitive mix of low-rise and high-rise blocks of flats.
The neighbourhood is urgently in need of technical, spatial and social transformation. This especially applies to the public space; as in many neighbourhoods of the 1960s the area between the building blocks is rather large and unarticulated, poorly maintained and hardly used. The problem is partly caused by the existing architecture that fails to establish a mutual relationship between indoor and outdoor space. The project for the new school attempts to rethink this relationship while engaging with the existing context.
The project consists of two loosely connected volumes, a two storey compact building block, which is the actual school building, and a double sports hall. Both volumes are placed in the far corners of the generously dimensioned plot. The buildings are complemented by two semi-enclosed outdoor spaces. Facing the Spinozaweg there is an open, paved and rather urban square that will be used as playground.
On the other side there will be a large, intensively planted, enclosed garden. This garden offers space for recreation and play and serves as an outdoor ‘classroom’ for the subject ‘green’ that will be part of the curriculum in the new school. The design of the façades, entrances and the plinth supports the desired close relationship between inside and outside.
The curriculum focuses on three main subjects: living, working and leisure. These subjects are taught in specific classrooms, such as the living room, the kitchen and the art studio. These classrooms are situated on the ground floor facing the street and establish, quite literally, the connection between the school and the outside world.
The rest of the school, with all regular classrooms facing the garden, has a more private character. Specific attention has been paid to the design of the spacious circulation area in the centre of the building. Generous roof lights and voids allow for daylight to reach the ground floor, while respecting the need of many of the pupils for a calm environment avoiding stimuli such as noise, too vivid colours and forms.
Within the budgetary limits of public school buildings we designed a sustainable structure with flexible and timeless plans and a low energy installation; in the future the school can easily be adjusted to the needs of other types of education. The sports hall combines a regular steel structure with an expressive timber roof and appears as a completely timber-lined, roof-lit space. The plinth around the building has been clad with ceramic tiles in different black and white patterns made by the remarkably artistic pupils.
Rotterdam-based Studio Makkink & Bey has added an industrial playground with a decorative perimeter fence to a Mecanoo-designed housing complex in Reimerswaal, the Netherlands.
This image and main image: photograph by Nadine Stijns
Studio Makkink & Bey was asked by social housing provider Ymere to come up with a design for the courtyards of the brick-built Reimerswaalhof housing complex designed by Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo, which opened in 2011.
The designers responded by creating an adventure playground, where climbing frames and tubular steel slides are combined to create a single complex structure for children to play on and around.
The playground is accessible both to the residents of the new apartments and to students from the neighbouring elementary school.
“The play sculpture was designed to invite the schoolchildren of Sint Lukas elementary school to share their domain with the children who live there,” said the designers.
The dark tones of the adventure playground are mirrored by the surrounding fencing, which is made up of vertical steel rods sculpted to create cartoon-like outlines in the shapes of domestic furniture.
“Fences and sculptures show kinship with the architecture of the surrounding buildings; they form a family together,” added the designers.
Here’s a project description from Studio Makkink & Bey:
Defining the private spaces in the courtyards of Reimerswaal
Studio Makkink & Bey was asked by Ymere to develop a concept to define the private spaces in the courtyards of Reimerswaal. Both the play sculpture, and courtyard fence are fused together – combining the private and public functions of street furniture. The buildings around the ‘Reimerswaalhof’ courtyard were designed by Mecanoo architects. The buildings include social housing, private sector housing, wheelchair accessible housing, apartments, an office space and an elementary school.
The fence marks a transition between the private features that are typical for an enclosed yard and the public character of the space around it. The play sculpture by Studio Makkink & Bey was designed to invite the schoolchildren of Sint Lukas elementary school to share their domain with the children who live there. The children can easily slide back and forth over the borderline between private and public domain. By doing so, they playfully soften and smudge the boundaries of ownership.
Fences and sculptures show kinship with the architecture of the surrounding buildings, they form a family together. Individually, the railings each maintain their own character and depict their own story, while the line drawings in steel rods create perspective and a spatial effect. Domestic elements were used to make the public space feel safe and comfortable.
News: Dutch studio MVRDV has revealed its competition-winning design to create a bowl-shaped art depot for the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam with a mirrored exterior and a rooftop sculpture garden.
MVRDV‘s Boijmans Collection Building will provide Rotterdam’s most important art gallery with a six-storey storage facility to house over 125,000 paintings, sculptures and objects, most of which will be accessible to the public.
Proposed for the northern end of the OMA-designed Museumpark, the building will have a round shape that tapers outward towards the top to minimise its footprint on the park. Its entire exterior will be made from mirrored glass, allowing the building to reflect its surroundings.
A public pathway will zigzag up through all six storeys, leading up from a lobby and cafe on the ground floor towards exhibition galleries and a restaurant at the top. These spaces will open out to the rooftop sculpture garden featuring a Futuro, the futuristic house developed in the 1960s by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen.
The levels in between will offer a series of exhibition areas curated by the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, as well as a look inside various depots and restoration workshops. Some artworks will be displayed within these spaces, and could be swapped with the use of mobile storage racks.
“A public art depot is a new phenomenon to the Netherlands; normally these depots are hidden in the periphery of cities,” said MVRDV co-founder Winy Maas.
“It is a bold initiative that will raise the attention of the international museum circles. It offers space to Museum Boijmans van Beuningen and will help it to strengthen its international profile.”
The building will also include offices, logistics rooms and quarantine areas, as well as private art collection rooms that can be rented through the museum. Completion is scheduled for 2017.
Here’s the full announcement from MVRDV:
MVRDV wins competition Collection Building Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam
Today the city of Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and MVRDV present the design for the new Collection Building. The building with a surface of 15,000m2 is an open art depot featuring exhibition halls, a sculpture roof garden and a restaurant. The public can see what’s going on behind the scenes in a museum and private art collectors will be able to store their own collection in ideal Museum conditions. The design – a reflective round volume – responds to its surroundings, Rotterdam’s Museumpark in which it will be completed in 2017. The allocated budget is 50 million Euro.
Collection Building is an art depot open to the public. A public route zigzags through the building, from the lobby on the ground floor where a café can be found up to an exhibition space, sculpture garden and restaurant on the roof. On the way up the route passes along and through art depots and restoration workshops. In depots visible from the route, the exhibition can be changed on a daily basis by simply moving storage racks so each visit to the building can offer a unique experience. On three floors the route passes through exhibition spaces which will be programmed by Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.
The building – which will store the precious art collection of Rotterdam – will also have spaces not accessible to the general public. For example logistics, quarantine and room for private art collections whose owners can visit their art and even enjoy it in private spaces comparable to the art-equivalent of a sky box. This is a new commercial service offered by the museum. Additionally depots and an office of philanthropic foundation De Verre Bergen will be located in the Collection Building.
The roof featuring a restaurant, sculpture garden and exhibition space offers wide views over Rotterdam and will be the new home for the Futuro, the ufo-shaped house of Finish architect Matti Suuronen.
The Collection Building will be realised on the northern edge of Rotterdams Museumpark, realised by OMA with Yves Brunier in 1994. In order to spare the park, the volume is designed as a compact round volume with a small footprint and will be clad with a reflective glass facade. This will make the building less visible and allow reflections, the public can see what is happening elsewhere in the park. Where needed the reflection will be lesser for transparency and to avoid unwanted light effects.
40% of the 15,000m2 will be visible or accessible to the public. The building will feature seven different climatic conditions facilitating ideal conditions for art storage, offices and the public. The ambition is to reach sustainability classification BREEAM Excellent.
In the autumn of 2013 five architecture teams presented their designs for the Collection Building in a competition won by MVRDV. The other contenders were Koen Van Velsen, Harry Gugger with Barcode Architects, Neutelings Riedijk and Mad with NIO. MVRDV was disqualified from the competition after an alleged breach of the regulations but was vindicated in a legal procedure and declared official winner. MVRDV won the competition together with Pieters Bouwtechniek, IGG Consultants and DGMR Consultants. Expected completion is envisioned for 2017.
The cylindrical shape of this university building on the outskirts of Dutch town Wageningen is designed by BDG Architects to optimise the usable floor space inside and reduce energy loss through the facade (+ slideshow).
Stoas Vilentum is the only institution in The Netherlands dedicated to teaching agriculture and ecology, and the Zwolle office of Dutch firm BDG Architects wanted to reflect its sustainable focus through the building’s shape, materials and interior details.
“For the basis of the building [we] chose a cylindrical shape because of the favourable ratio of surface area relative to the area of the facade,” said the architects, adding: “This minimises energy loss through the building’s skin.”
Located on a site surrounded by grass and trees, the building is slightly raised to make the most of its position in the landscaped campus.
“The interaction between architecture and landscape is intensified by placing the building on a green mound,” the architects explained. “The campus will develop in the future more into a surrounding where education, working and living come together.”
Balconies wrap around sections of the facade and transition into long staircases that connect the building’s three storeys.
A staircase ascends through the circular atrium at the centre of the building, which is filled with natural light from large round skylights.
The architects planned the interior spaces to accommodate the university’s flexible learning practices, with labs, offices and classrooms located around the circumference of the building, and spaces for informal activities in the open areas at the centre.
Angled green columns punctuate the communal spaces around the edge of the stairwell on each floor, in some places surrounding glass-walled cylindrical meeting rooms.
Students and staff can also congregate on giant beanbags clustered throughout the atrium to conduct impromptu meetings or relax during free time.
Swivel desk chairs lining long curving work surfaces provide an alternative place to study with views across the surrounding campus.
Stoas Vilentum is a small academic institution where research and teaching focus on the green sector, and where educational specialists in the fields of agriculture and ecology are trained.
The educational philosophy of the institution is based on ‘ecological intelligence’. The design of BDG Architects is a translation of this philosophy and is conceived in close cooperation with the future users.
The building is designed as a pavilion in the green surroundings of the campus. The interaction between architecture and landscape is intensified by placing the building on a green mound. The campus will develop in the future more into a surrounding were education, working and living come together. The new building for the Stoas Vilentum is an important step in this development, which is emphasized by placing the building on this mound.
The three floors of the building are linked to each other by a central atrium in which lazy stairs connects the different floors. The balance between open learning areas, intimate study places and classrooms is designed to serve the educational philosophy of the university optimal. The spaces are divides into the so called ‘nesting areas’- rational spaces with established functions such as labs, offices and classrooms -, and ‘cave areas’- open spaces where different (spontaneous) activities can take place.
Beautiful prints on the walls make these areas recognisable. On different places in the building are ecological structures used, for example on these prints, which refer to the education that is given in which the relation between humans and nature and ecology is placed central.
For the basis of the building BDG Architects choose a cylindrical shape, because of the favourable ratio of surface area relative to the area of the façade. This minimises energy loss through the building’s skin. The cylindrical shape also represents the equivalence between tutors and students. The clear shape makes it into a firm and attractive building, well placed in its surroundings and with an pleasant interior for the students and tutors.
Architect: BDG Architects Zwolle Name project: Stoas Vilentum Wageningen Address: Mansholtlaan 18, 6708 PA Wageningen, the Netherlands
Cow-bladder lights, fish-skin stools and plastic made of beetles all feature in an exhibition of work by Eindhoven design duo Formafantasma.
The Prima Materia exhibition, at the Stedelijk Museum in the Dutch city of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, looks back at work by Italian-born designers Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin of Formafantasma.
The exhibition is organised in two parts. Videos, sketches and material samples along the entrance corridor give a behind-the-scenes look at the duo’s work processes before the finished pieces are viewed in the main space.
“We wanted the exhibition to be more than just about the final pieces or the making of the objects,” Trimarchi told Dezeen. “It was important to show how our projects are ‘vessels’, and show the context and concept behind the work without being too literal.”
The designs are displayed on simple wooden tables and stands, arranged in clusters around the gallery. The exhibition opened on 15 February and runs until 15 June. Photography is by Inga Powilleit.
Read on for more information from the museum:
Prima Materia – design by Studio Formafantasma Exhibition 15 February – 15 June 2014
After Wieki Somers, Maarten Baas and Scholten & Baijings, the Stedelijk Museum ’s-Hertogenbosch presents the design duo Studio Formafantasma: Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin– two Italian designers from Eindhoven.
The exhibition Prima Materia – design by Studio Formafantasma is the first survey of the oeuvre of Studio Formafantasma. Since graduating from the Design Academy Eindhoven, these two Italian designers have received invitations from all over the world for their unusual use of material, forms and design concepts.
Studio Formafantasma is highly productive: within a period of five years they have presented 14 projects and collections, worked for design labels like Fendi, Droog and Vitra Design Museum, and put on presentations during the Salone del Mobile in Milan, Art Abu Dhabi and Design Miami Basel. Museums such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Art Institute of Chicago have purchased their work. This retrospective will focus not only on objects and installations but also on the creative process of Studio Formafantasma.
The title of the exhibition Prima Materia refers to alchemy: the transformation of everyday raw materials into precious goods. Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin do something similar as designers. An extensive research and work process results in products and installations that raise questions about the role of industry, globalisation and sustainability. Thus the Botanica collection arose from the question of what plastics can be made of when there is no more oil. For this purpose they developed their own vegetable polymers (plastics) for making vases, bowls, a coffee table and lamps.
The designs of Studio Formafantasma offer an alternative vision to today’s consumer society and the role that design plays in it. Their unique, handmade products (table service made of a flour based material, stools made of fish leather and sea sponge, bottles made of resin) are statements about material and function. By opting for natural materials and pre-industrial (traditional) techniques and combining them with new possibilities of use, Studio Formafantasma makes suggestions for an alternative, democratic design method: what they offer is a kind of manual for getting to create yourself.
Emerging Dutch firm Unknown Architects has renovated a 200-year-old house in Leiden by stripping back its interior, and inserting built-in furniture and a twisting white staircase (+ slideshow).
Daan Vulkers and Keimpke Zigterman of Unknown Architects were careful to restore some of the house’s character and spatial simplicity by removing non-original partitioned walls and suspended ceilings to create open-plan spaces on all three floors.
Wooden furniture elements were built on each level to accommodate seating areas, work surfaces and screens, while timber ceiling beams overhead were purposefully left uncovered to provide a contrast to the modern additions.
Keeping to their client’s preference that the kitchen was the hub of the home, the architects allowed it take over the entire middle floor.
Bleached nutwood was used here to build worktops and cupboards along the side wall, as well as a dining table with banquette seating and an adjoining dresser.
The ground floor can be used as an office, dining room or guest bedroom. Vulkers and Zigterman built a wooden platform at one end of the space, creating a raised seating and storage area that incorporates a fold-out guest bed.
A screen wall separates the staircase from a desk that cantilevers off one wall. It also contains recesses to provide extra storage.
The main bedroom occupies the loft and includes a new bamboo dresser.
Unknown Architects completed the renovation of a 17th century house in the historic city centre of Leiden
Unknown Architects is established by two students, studying at the Technical University in Delft. During their studies they became curious about working with clients. As a part of the honours programme they started this project, where they tried to translate the ambitions and wishes of a client in a design proposal. This cooperation turned out so well that this client decided to commission Unknown Architects for their first project, which was completed in November 2012.
All the non-authentic parts of this monument, like partition walls and suspended ceilings, were removed to bring back the authentic character and spatial clarity. In this relatively small house three fixed multifunctional furniture elements were added.
The ground floor functions as office and second bedroom. One bamboo furniture element incorporates storage space and a platform, covering a guest bed which can be pulled out.
An important wish of the client was to make the kitchen “the heart of the house” where all activities could come together. This was translated in two kitchen elements, made out of bleached nutwood. The central element includes a table, kitchen dresser and a fixed bench that shields the stairwell andprovides the best sightlines to the outside.
On the second floor we added one small dresser made of bamboo shielding the stairwell and providing a place to sit under the dormer.
In this project, we worked with different carpenters who specialised in working with different materials. In order to create a varied experience when ascending through the apartment, we opted for a different choice of wood for the ground floor and the first floor. All the floors – rubber – and walls – fine clay stucco finish – have the same finish.
The uncovered ceilings are intentionally kept as we found them and form a contrast with the new.
Le studio Drift, fondé en 2006 par Ralph Nauta et Lonneke Gordijn, a créé plusieurs projets d’installation de lumières pour divers événements. De Miami Basel au Grand-Hornu Images Museum, leurs créations jouent essentiellement avec le mouvement, les structures et la confrontation entre nature et technologie.
FF3 at Grand-Hornu Images Museum – « Space Oddity », 2012.
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