The former town hall of Almelo is a remarkable building in several respects. It is the final design in the impressive oeuvre of architect Jacobus Johannes Pieter Oud. It was designed in 1965 and, after the death of the architect, was further elaborated and built by his son − H.E. Oud – who described the building as “poetic functionalism”.

It is interesting to note that the building was originally designed for another location in Almelo. Following a period of discussion concerning the urban and traffic management structure when extending the city, the design, practically unaltered, was built on the former Gebr. Palthe industrial estate. Except for modifications in the interior, it remains a highly original building but structurally in very bad condition. The building can be conceived as a compilation of three striking volumes on a raised plinth. The slender, transparent curtain wall of the main volume represents an open, democratic relationship between the civil service and citizens. The high elevation and overall volume present opportunities for the incorporation of an extraordinary, new living environment.

For more than thirty years the town hall was one of the city’s most important public buildings: the people of Almelo visited it, worked in it, attended meetings and waited, complained, married and celebrated there. The transformation of this splendid building is an opportunity to preserve its exceptional quality, and to utilise it for a new, extraordinary living environment that does justice to the original design.

The renovation of Weverij De Ploeg – a national monument – has been nominated for the AR New into Old awards. This award is an initiative of The Architectural Review, a renowned English architecture journal, that recently celebrated its120th anniversary. The AR New into Old awards is a new prize in the field of renovation and transformation. The internationally selected projects were chosen on the basis of their successful transformation of the original architecture into contemporary functions, with diverse strategies leading to inspiring reutilisation.

The renovation of De Ploeg by diederendirrix architectuur & stedenbouw gained recognition yet again, when the project was also awarded the Pieter van Vollenhoven prize on 1 December 2017. This annual award is presented to an organisation or person that was the most successful in giving a historic building a new function.

A member of the AR New into Old awards jury flew over from London to visit Rietveld’s monument and assess the quality of the De Ploeg renovation. Special arrangements were also made to have a photographer for the award. Project architect Rob Meurders and Jan Burgmans, the client and director of Bruns, arranged a tour of De Ploeg and were then interviewed by the jury member.

The projects nominated for the AR New into Old awards, as well as the announcement of the winner, will be published in the December/January issue of The Architectural Review. Incidentally, this will probably be one of the last paper editions of the journal because, according to reports, there are plans to publish The Architectural Review in digital form in future.

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On Friday 1 December this year in Bergeijk, the Pieter van Vollenhoven prize was awarded to Bruns. The prize is made available by the National Restoration Fund and consists of a plaque and an amount of 10,000 Euros. The prize was presented to Pieter van Vollenhoven in 2013 on his departure after 27 years as Chairman of the National Restoration Fund. The Pieter van Vollenhoven prize is awarded by a jury of heritage specialists each year to a private individual or an organisation that was the most successful in giving a new purpose to a historic building.

Until recently, Pieter van Vollenhoven had not heard of Weverij de Ploeg in Bergeijk. His wife, however, had. ‘Yes’, she said immediately, ‘it’s an impressive building by Rietveld. With a wonderful philosophy too. That building is a celebration. And the park that’s around it. Fantastic.’ Van Vollenhoven found the award of the prize was justly deserved. ‘De Ploeg was a creative company and Bruns is that, too. Wonderful that a similar type of company is occupying the building again, that was why it was created. This is very different from a church that’s converted into a hotel.’

Van Vollenhoven listened with interest to a detailed description of the restoration of the factory building by Rob Meurders of diederendirrix and interior designer Aart van Asseldonk (wearing a hat in the photo). As joint initiative-taker for the renovation, Rob Meurders also deserves a place in the spotlight because, after Bruns purchased the building, he approached director Jan Burgmans and convinced him to renovate the factory true to style. The Pieter van Vollenhoven prize is therefore also proof of a successful partnership between client and architect.

Photograph: Vincent van den Hoven

Diederendirrix, in combination with Exaedes (project management), Ynno (the New Work concept consultant), K-plus adviseurs (installation technology and construction physics) and Van de Laar (construction), has won the tender for the renovation of the offices of the municipality of Sittard-Geleen.

The commission arises from the municipality of Sittard-Geleen’s decision to accommodate the managerial centre − Mayor and Aldermen, Council, and Registry − in Sittard and the administrative organisation in Geleen. For this purpose the present Stadswinkel in Geleen will be renovated and a new-build expansion will also be added. In total this involves approximately 8,500 m² of office space.

The project forms part of the city centre concept in which the new municipal offices become a landmark in their surroundings. The building will be made more sustainable and will be strategically extended, whereby the municipal offices will fulfil a future-proof role in the city council and the centre of Geleen.

The implementation of the new office concept also contributes to this goal. The municipal offices will be converted to accommodate the New Work concept. To that end the office environment will be transformed into a modern, flexible work environment tailored to facilitate meeting, collaboration and activity-related work.

On Wednesday 25 October this year, during the Dutch Design Week, the official launch took place of the Result Chair and Pyramid Collection in the former mill, De Ploeg, in Bergeijk. After some sixty years the well-known Dutch Result Chair, designed by Friso Kramer and Wim Rietveld, has been re-launched on the market by the Danish furniture producer HAY, in collaboration with the Dutch manufacturer Ahrend.

Arnold Struik, Marketing and Innovation Director at Ahrend, opened the event with a special word of welcome for Friso Kramer, who has now reached the venerable age of 95. Rolf Hay, founder of Hay, then summarised for those present how the redesign of the Result Chair had come about. Hay, together with Ahrend, has adapted the chair whereby the new Result Chair is functional, accessible and affordable for everyone. The industrial character of the chair in particular is what makes it outstanding and entirely in keeping with the Hay philosophy.

The presentation took place in an exceptional location, which everyone found deeply impressive. The former mill where the Ploeg fabrics were produced was designed by Gerrit Rietveld and forms a single entity with the equally impressive Ploegpark, designed by Mien Ruys. As from this year the factory building is being used by exhibition developer Bruns, following the renovation of the building by diederendirrix – and its redesign together with product designer Aart van Asseldonk. In this context, architects Paul Diederen and Rob Meurders from diederendirrix gave a brief explanation of the transformation of buildings and the renovation of Weverij De Ploeg, followed by a tour of the building. The evening concluded with informal drinks.

Photos of this evening are on Facebook

At the beginning of this year, which revolves around De Stijl, the renovation of the only factory Rietveld ever designed, was completed and a new visitor centre was opened in Bergeijk. Former weaving mill De Ploeg and its surrounding park is one of the top 100 listed buildings from the post-war period (1940-1958). There are many parallels between the renovation process and the original construction process and founders’ philosophy.

De Ploeg started as a cooperative weaving mill and textile business in the 1920s. In the early 1950s, the company – by then renowned for its modern interior and fashion fabrics – wanted a new factory building with a wide span, a flexible floor plan, and plenty of good light to ensure the manufacturing of fabrics with consistent colour properties.

Read the full article in ArchitectuurNL

The jury of The Rietveld Award 2017, led by architect Jacq. de Brouwer, has announced the projects nominated for The Rietveld Award 2017, an architecture award which aims to stimulate the quality of the built environment of the city of Utrecht. The former office building on the Nijenoord in Utrecht is one of the nominated projects. The building dates from the 1960s and was the office of Jeugdzorg [Bureau for Youth Care] and has been drastically transformed. In the existing situation, the building – built in several phases – looks extremely incoherent and messy. The new façade has a grid of regular brick bond filled with light-coloured bricks and gold aluminium sliding doors. This gives the building a fresh look, matching its new residential function. Subtle details such as brick soldier courses above and below the façade openings and a reveal of alternating depth contribute to the building’s sophisticated look.

Visit rietveldprijs.nl to read more about the nominated projects

 

The aim of the Dirk Roosenburg Prize, the Eindhoven architecture prize awarded every two years, is to improve by public debate the quality of the built environment in the municipality of Eindhoven. The prize is awarded to a project implemented within the municipality’s boundaries. Not only the design’s quality is taken into consideration, but also how the project contributes to the city’s perception, usability and identity.

The Nominating Committee visited more than 40 projects in Eindhoven and nominated 10 projects. The commission looked at the quality of technical design as well as aspects such as (public) usage and an appreciation of a project or the innovative design approach. The nomination report states: “The Nominating Commission is impressed by this transformation’s quality of technical design and appreciates the conservation and repurposing of the Philips complex on this location – a vulnerable spot for Eindhoven. The nomination involves both an appreciation of the architectural transformation and a critical curiosity for the realisation of the Emmapark. After all, this park – which will add a public green boost to the centre and through which the river Gender will flow again – is not ready yet.”

The public can vote in October; the prize will be awarded on 27 October 2017.

Read here the full nomination report of Architectuurcentrum Eindhoven

Ariane Zwarts and poet Erik van Os revealed the poem on the facade of De Brakken – primary School – in Rijen.  “Four students who had their birthday this week guided the alderman and poet to the facade,” says school director Johan Kamp. The children chose the poems themselves. And it was obviously read for the occasion. The letters of white acrylate are placed in the passage of the Mayor Sweensplein to the playground. Facade poems is a project of the Art Commission of the municipality of Gilze and Rijen. Since 2007 poems have been realized on, among others, facades in Rijen, Gilze, Molenschot and Hulten.

The Netherlands are ageing, which is felt especially by the post-war residential areas. The risks for the elderly: problems with pavements, high staircases and social isolation. It is high time that plans are designed to make the Netherlands ageing-proof. Diederendirrix made a plan for the Rotterdam area Carnisse. “Here we encounter two problems,” architect Tomas Dirrix explains. The first problem is that a large part of the area consists of houses with a porch that have entrance stairs of one metre high, which is quite a climb for some elderly people. The second problem concerns the architecture: streets with terraced houses have side streets without a destination: the streets only have sidewalls and no front doors.

Diederendirrix’ design is one of the winners of the WHO CARES competition, a design competition for new ways of housing and health care.

Read the full article in de Volkskrant