Crafting Glass – two new retail remodels completed in the Netherlands Crafting Glass – two new retail remodels completed in the Netherlands
News - 1 April 2020

Crafting Glass – two new retail remodels completed in the Netherlands

During the Corona outbreak, at UNStudio we are taking all the necessary measures to safeguard our employees and our running projects, as well as to play our part in society at large. However, with our architects and designers currently working from home and putting huge effort and dedication into their work, we also feel it is important to continue to celebrate our output. With that in mind…

UNStudio has recently completed two remodel projects for retail outlets in the Netherlands.

The 18 Septemberplein renovation in Eindhoven, and a second complete facade remodel on the P.C Hooftstraat in Amsterdam.

 

PC Hooftstraat 140-142

The P.C. Hooftstraat is famous for its high-end boutiques and design shops, situated between the Museum Quarter, the Vondel Park and the Oud-Zuid neighborhood. Shops along this street are a testament to Dutch design, creativity, high-end clothing and art. UNStudio’s renovation brought two separate buildings together to become one retail space, making The Brick Pixelation one of the largest retail spaces along the P.C. Hooftstraat.

Ben van Berkel: “These neighbouring facade projects that we have designed for the P.C. Hooftstraat are principally concerned with contrasting and crafting the detail through scale and materiality. The design of the facade for 140-142 intentionally employs a more sober scale of detailing to its neighbour. At 140-142, steel bricks inlayed with glass are crafted to refine and compose the details, creating a contemporary interpretation of the traditional bricks found in Dutch townhouses. And while the windows of 138 span multiple floors and protrude outwards, those of 140-142 slant inwards and are brought back to the townhouse scale on the second floor.”

Read more about PC Hooftstraat 140 - 142 here.

18 Septemberplein

As part of Pan-European retail real estate investment manager Redevco’s redevelopment of the 9,000 m2, four storey 18 Septemberplein C&A building (a significant piece of protected post-war architecture), UNStudio was invited to restore and connect this historical building to its existing urban context.

Ben van Berkel: “As ‘the City of Light’, Eindhoven is the perfect place for innovation. The use of glass in the C&A building not only creates a light construction, but it adds variation of depth to the otherwise flush plane of this historic facade. During daytime, the glass boxes act as ‘eyes’ to the public square, allowing the building to interact and communicate with the public, while at night the animated light installations suggest that the building is breathing as it illuminates the square.”

Read more about 18 Septemberplein here.