Hasta La Ideas

Behold this “artist impression” by Benthem Crouwel Architects of the glass roof on a new bus station behind the Amsterdam Central Station, currently under construction. The vast, curved roof is adorned with the word AMSTERDAM in large red-with-orange letters.

Click images to enlarge.

Building commenced in April 2011. Today, in September 2012, the middle section of the roof is still missing, so all we can see is AM…RDAM. (The letters STE won’t be inserted until 2013, when construction of the underground North-South tram line at this location is expected to be finished.)

Being worrisome by nature, we typographers can’t help expressing some concerns: did the architects and roofers calculate everything exactly right? Will the missing letters fit into the remaining space? And did the roofers adhere to proper kerning specifications?

Fact: the word AMSTERDAM starts and ends with the letter combination AM.

The first worrisome fact: the space between the first A and M is five windows …

… but between the second A and M – oh, horror – it is only four.

AM 1: five windows (close-up)

AM 2: four windows (close-up)

In addition to this internal kerning error we must point to a possibly even more worrisome fact. The distance from the word AMS… to the left side of the roof is forty-nine windows …

… whereas to the right side of …DAM we count only forty-six. The word AMSTERDAM will therefore be out of center by a margin of one or two “window pixels”. Or even more so, because the first letter (A) is skewed on the left side while the last (M) has a straight edge. It would have been wise to leave more space, not less, at the right-hand side, for the word to be centered properly.

Oh, well.

Piet Schreuders is a designer, writer, and researcher, living and working in Amsterdam. He founded and publishes Furore magazine, the cat-fanzine De Poezenkrant and is author of “Lay In – Lay Out”, “The Beatles’ London”, “Paperbacks, USA”, and “The Paperback Art of James Avati”.

Amsterdam architects UNStudio have completed a new headquarters for the Dutch national tax offices and the student loan administration in Groningen, the Netherlands.

Called DUO², the 92 metre-tall building has a facade covered in horizontal fins to provide shade and reduce the need for artificial cooling.

The project comprises 2,500 work stations, underground parking for 1,500 bicycles and 675 cars and a public park.

More about UNStudio on Dezeen »

Photographs are by Christian Richters/View unless stated otherwise.

Here are some more details from UNStudio:

UNStudio/ Ben van Berkel realizes with consortium DUO² governmental offices for DUO– Education Executive Agency & Tax Offices in Groningen

A greener approach to tall buildings in the post-iconic age – The Dutch tax office moves to one of Europe’s most sustainable offices

A new, 92 meter tall complex of soft, undulating curves marks the skyline of Groningen. This asymmetric, aerodynamic construction is set amidst small, ancient woodland, sheltering rare and protected species. The project includes the design, construction and financing of two public institutions; the national tax offices and the student loan administration. The commission from the RGD (National Buildings Service) includes, besides the architecture, the management and building maintenance and care of facilities and services for a period of 20 years. Accommodating 2,500 workstations, parking facilities for 1,500 bicycles and 675 cars in an underground garage, the building will be surrounded by a large public city garden with pond and a multifunctional pavilion with commercial functions.

The architecture aims to present these institutions with a softer, more human and approachable profile. Tall buildings are generally associated with mid-twentieth century modernism. Their harsh, businesslike exteriors contain powerful, inaccessible-seeming strongholds. By contrast, the DUO and Tax offices deliberately cloak a commanding public institution in an organic, friendlier and more future-oriented form.

“We paid a great deal of attention to how people would move through the building. The office spaces are designed in such a way that they do not create simple linear corridors leading to dead ends, but instead each corridor has a route which introduces a kind of landscape into the building. You can take endless walks through the building, where there is a great deal of transparency, also towards the surrounding landscape.” Ben van Berkel

Attainability; a mix of affordable and responsible – reaping material benefits of integral design and construction with a Design Build Finance Maintenance Operate Contract

The governmental office complex is built as part of a far-reaching form of public-private partnership (DBFMO) that is designed to effectuate on a more efficient use of public funds. The design, construction, financing, managing and maintenance of the building was hosted by one consortium consisting of Strukton, Ballast Nedam and John Laing. This consortium won the competition for the project on the basis of a combination of esthetic, technical and financial criteria. UNStudio, as the architect of the project, collaborated with Lodewijk Baljon for the landscape design, Arup for the engineering and Studio Linse as the interior advisor.

The life-cycle approach of a DBFMO contract requires that all relevant experts (designers, lawyers, installation specialists, financial specialists, facility specialists) are involved from the start of the project in order to find the best, most cost effective and environmentally-friendly solutions for the continued use and maintenance of the building. This working methodology stimulates not only creative and innovative ideas, but facilitates a reduction of total costs over the entire contract period compared to the traditional means of contracting. In PPP projects contracts are not awarded to the lowest bidder, but to the party with most effective solutions providing the best value for money.

“In a PPP-construction you have to consider all the details concerning maintenance and the sustainable use of the building from the very early stages. It is a unique way to gather all the specialists and the end user around the table from the very outset of the project.”
Ben van Berkel

Exemplary sustainability

“The design contains numerous new innovations related to the reduction of materials, lower energy costs and more sustainable working environments. It presents a fully integrated, intelligent design approach towards sustainability.” Ben van Berkel

The project is one of Europe’s most sustainable large new office buildings. The RGD brief prescribed a future-proof building that couples flexibility and sustainability with an esthetic of sobriety. The architectural response to this has been to strive for an all-round understanding of the concept of sustainability, including energy and material consumption, as well as social and environmental factors. Thus the sustainability manifests itself in reduced energy consumption (EPC 0,74), as well as significantly reduced material consumption. Bringing back the floor heights from 3,60 m to 3,30 m resulted in a total reduction of 7,5 m. on the entire building, which also lessens the impact of the building on the surroundings. Both inside and outside the architecture generates a bio-climate that is beneficial to both humans and the local flora and fauna.

All-round architectural sustainability: a sum of many parts.

Fins
Sustainability and energy reduction have steered the design of the facade, which contains technical installations that are tailored to be durable and cause minimal environmental impact. The facade concept integrates shading, wind control, daylight penetration and construction in fin-shaped elements. These horizontal fins keep a large amount of the heat outside the building, reducing the requirement for cooling.

Concrete core activation
Another technical feature of the building that contributes to its sustainable character is the combination of concrete core activation and underground long term energy storage. This appreciably reduces the demand for external energy sources.

Individual climate control for each workspace
Creating a healthy, energy efficient interior climate and employee workspace comfort was also an important element in the design. Plenty of natural daylight and adjustable heating, ventilation and access to fresh air for individual workspaces contribute to the comfort of the workspaces throughout the building.

The 11-th floor
A high pressure ventilation system with natural air inflow and outflow via main engineering shafts and the facade grills on the 11th floor reduces the need for artificial ventilation

Future possibilities
In addition, the residual energy of the data center and offices can be used to heat the homes that will be realized in the future in the perimeter of the site.

Flexibility
And last, but not least, the building is designed so that it can be transformed into housing in the future without major structural modifications. Therefore, the locations of elevators, stairs and technical spaces have been carefully considered, and a structural grid of 1,20 m. has been deployed, rather than the conventional office grid of 1,80 m.

Conclusion
The inclusion of diverse passive and active environmental and energy efficient solutions has led to a building which is one of the most sustainable office buildings in the Netherlands.

Education Executive Agency & Tax offices, Groningen, the Netherlands, 2006 – 2011

Data:
Client of the consortium:
Dutch Government Buildings Agency (RGD)

Client UNStudio:
Consortium DUO² (Strukton, Ballast Nedam, John Laing)

Program: Office building (phase A); underground parking (phase B); public city garden, pavilion (phase C)

Building surface: 48.040m² offices, 21.000m² parking, 1.500m² pavilion
Building volume: 215.000m³
Building site: 31.134m²

Credits UNStudio:
UNStudio: Ben van Berkel, Caroline Bos, Gerard Loozekoot with Jacques van Wijk, Frans van Vuure, Lars Nixdorff and Jesca de Vries, Ramon van der Heijden, Alicja Mielcarek, Eric den Eerzamen, Wendy van der Knijff, Machiel Wafelbakker, Timothy Mitanidis, Maud van Hees, Pablo Herrera Paskevicius, Martijn Prins, Natalie Balini, Peter Moerland, Arjan van der Bliek, Alexander Hugo, Gary Freedman, Jack Chen, Remco de Hoog, Willi van Mulken, Yuri Werner, Machteld Kors, Leon Bloemendaal, Erwin Horstmanshof.

Designteam:
UNStudio, architecture and interior
Studio Linse, interior
Arup, structure, installations
Lodewijk Baljon, landscaping
Buro van Baar, wayfinding
YNNO, internal logistics
Consultants:
DGMR, acoustics
EFPC, fire prevention
Ingenieursbureau Wassenaar, prefab structure
BTS Bouwkundig Tekenburo Sneek, drawing agency
ISS Nederland B.V, maintenance
Peutz, environmental technology
WUR (Wageningen University & Research centre), ecology
Strukton Bouw en Vastgoed, management and costing
Strukton Betonbouw, construction
Strukton WorkSphere, installations

Financial:
John Laing Infrastructure Limited, financial
RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) Capital Markets, financial
TCN SIG Real Estate Strukton Vastgoed, pavilion development
Allen & Overy LLP, legal
Sequoia, legal

See also:

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Galleria Centercity by UNStudio	UNStudio Tower by UNStudio	Burnham Pavilion by UNStudio

Rotterdam studio Pasel Kuenzel Architects have completed another house for MVRDV‘s masterplan in Leiden, the Netherlands (see the other houses here).

Called V35K18, the residence is separated from the house behind by a narrow glazed section, which forms the entrance.

The glazing covers a corridor extending the full height of the building, sandwiched between the two houses.

A long staircase reaches from the entrance at ground level right up to the second floor, with landings leading off into each level.

A work space is located at ground level, living spaces on the first floor and bedrooms on the top floor.

The architects have designed 10 other houses on this former industrial site and this residence sits opposite the zinc-clad V36K08/09 house in our earlier story.

Photographs are by Marcel van der Burg.

All our stories on this series of houses by Pasel Kuenzel Architects »

More residential architecture on Dezeen »

More architecture on Dezeen »

Here’s some more information from the architects:

RESIDENCE * V35K18, the Netherlands

V35K18 residence is located on the southern corner of an urban block comprising 18 utterly different houses. Due to its distinct design, clear materialisation and dark color the compact building forms a dominant ‘corner stone’ within the existing urban fabric.

All architectural details are subordinate to this principle. The massive brick volume is detached from the adjacent neighbour building by a glazed void and the square floor-to-ceiling windows are detailed flush into the facade. The smaller but longer ‘Hilversum-format’ of the bricks allows for an surprising elegancy and noblesse, and at the same time the black color of the facade associates directly with the traditional Dutch buildings dating from the 16th, 17th and 18th century.

Functional, the residence is set up in a classical Dutch way: work related program is located on the ground floor, living on the bel-etage and sleeping on the upper floor. The spectacular cascade stairwell situated in the glazed void on the long side of the building, generates an overwhelming space between the public and private realm.

Architect: pasel.kuenzel architects, Rotterdam , NL
Team: R. Pasel, F. Künzel
Client: Private
Location: Leiden, NL

See also:

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V36K08/09 by Pasel Kuenzel Architects	V21K07 by Pasel Kuenzel Architects	V21K01 by Pasel Kuenzel Architects

This inflatable pillow on stilts is a picnic pavilion designed by Netherlands design studio Overtreders W.

Called The Roof That Goes Up in Smoke, the inflatable roof is filled with hot air heated by a wood stove, the centrepiece of the pavilion, and provides shelter for the bar and picnic tables below.

The roof is illuminated at night, providing light for the picnickers heating their food on the stove.

The mobile pavilion can house up to 40 people. It was created for Allerzielen.nu, an event celebrating the festival of All Souls Day, and was installed at three locations.

More pavilions on Dezeen »

Here’s some more information from the designers:

The roof that goes up in smoke – a mobile outdoor pavilion by Overtreders W

For Allerzielen.nu, an event to celebrate All soul’s day, Dutch design studio Overtreders W designed a mobile outdoor pavilion. The pavilion, a meeting place for sharing food and stories, was called “Het dak dat opgaat in rook” (the roof that goes up in smoke). It consists of two large picnic tables, a floating roof that provides shelter for the tables and a wood stove.

The roof is blown up and lifted with hot air. The wood stove heating up the air is also the centre piece of the pavilion, to be used for making hot chocolate, roast chestnuts, pumpkin soup or jacket potatoes. The pavilion sits up to 40 people, and lights their picnic in the dark autumn night.

The pavilion was designed for Allerzielen.nu, an event inspired by the concept Allerzielen Alom from the artist Ida van der Lee. It was installed in three different locations in the south of Holland: at a graveyard in Roosendaal, at an institution for mental health in Biezenmortel and at a graveyard in Breda.

See also:

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Spacebuster by Raumlabor	Textile Shipping Containers by Overtreders W	Trans Artists documentation room by Overtreders W

Dutch designers Niels van Eijk & Miriam van der Lubbe have refurbished a concert hall in Eindhoven.

The Frits Philips Concert Hall features interiors, furniture, staff uniforms and even cutlery by van Eijk and van der Lubbe.

Visitors are led from the entrance area into the concert hall by subtle lighting, which move from a high-tech wall over the ceiling.

A large leaning glass façade at the front of the building provides views into the foyer and the two floors above.

Photographs are by Frank Tielemans.

The following information is from the designers:

Concert Hall of the future opens

Sat. 9 Oct. – Festive re-opening of the Frits Philips Concert Hall, Eindhoven

The spectacular metamorphosis of the Frits Philips Concert Hall in Eindhoven is nearing completion.

The renowned designer duo Van Eijk & Van der Lubbe got together with Philips Ambient Experience Design to design a concert hall that, with the help of lighting, technology and design, is completely in tune with the needs of its visitors.

The festive re-opening is on Saturday, 9 October.

In the middle of Eindhoven now stands the absolute music centre of the future, a place where lighting, design and technology are integrated innovatively, without it becoming merely a high-tech building.

Niels van Eijk and Miriam van der Lubbe of Geldrop designed both the interior and the exterior around the central idea of the Concert Hall as a meeting place.

Together with Philips Ambient Experience Design, Hypsos and Rapenburg Plaza, the duo produced an exceptional composition of light, image and specially developed technology.

Take for example the way concert-goers are led intuitively from foyer to concert hall by way of subtle lighting signs which move from a high-tech wall and over the ceiling.

Van Eijk & Van der Lubbe designed every detail especially for this project, from the enormous glass façade to the foyers and furniture, from the working wear to the crockery.

The most remarkable change is to the main entrance of the new Concert Hall.

This consists of a forward-leaning glass façade, 25 meters wide and 13 meters high.

Behind it is a cultural city-foyer where people are welcome throughout the day for a cup of coffee, and to listen to, and buy music.

The city-foyer will be fitted with an ambient wall, several meters long, consisting of thousands of led lights, on which films, works of art and concerts will be projected.

Visual artist Gerard Hadders realised the content of this living wall.

Visitors can listen to their favourite music in ‘listening chairs’ with integrated audio systems, designed specially by Van Eijk & Van der Lubbe.

They also designed multi-functional furniture for the foyers, and special duo-chairs with an innovative lighting system.

The Frits Philips Concert Hall, Eindhoven, celebrates the festive re-opening on Saturday 9 October with a musical Open House from 11.00h to 17.00h.

Commissioned by: Muziekgebouw Frits Philips Eindhoven

Total design: Van Eijk & Van der Lubbe together with Philips Design (creative concept & direction)Geldrop, Eindhoven

Interior architect: Van Eijk & Van der Lubbe Geldrop

Advice image, lighting and sound: Hypsos Soesterberg

Lighting designer: Rapenburg Plaza Amsterdam

Graphic identity: Gerard Hadders Schiedam

The redesign was made possible due in part to a contribution from the European Fund for Regional Development within the framework of OP-Zuid and contributions from the SRE Regional Fund, Brainport Development, Province Noord-Brabant and Gemeente Eindhoven.

See also:

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La Divina Commedia by Niels Van Eijk & Miriam van der Lubbe	Double Dutch curated by Jane Withers	More interior stories on Dezeen