Bringing XL Back Home: Having completed huge projects in Asia, Rem Koolhaas and his Office for Metropolitan Architecture apply their strategies for building extra-large to the small city in which they are based.
When I went to Rotterdam to see the largest single building in The Netherlands, the eponymous De Rotterdam by OMA, it reminded me of something. But I couldn't put my finger on it.
The Atjehstraat was just an ordinary street in Ka'ten'drecht, a hardscrabble neighborhood in Rotterdam’s old harbor area, where immigrants and young people have taken the place of sailors and prostitutes. Now it is a special street, thanks to the Broken Light project of artist and lighting designer Rudolf Teunissen and his firm Daglicht & Vorm (Daylight & Form). The project covers sidewalks in a wavy, underwater-like pattern of soft light, while adorning the facades of rental apartments in strips of light that look like pilasters. The overall effect is to create an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity. Broken Light originated
Built for a couple and located in an area of Southern Holland notable for its extensive sand dunes, this house was designed to both embrace and stand out from the landscape.
Record Houses 2010: Mountain House Pittman Dowell Residence Project X Tree House Villa Vals Woodstock Farm Well Hall Project Specs Project X Almere, The Netherlands Ren' Van Zuuk Architekten << Return to article the People Client: René van Zuuk & Marjo Körner Architect: Ren' Van Zuuk Architekten Personnel in architect's firm who should receive special credit: Office: René van Zuuk Architekten b.v., Almere / NL Design: René van Zuuk Structural Engineer: Van de Laar, Eindhoven / NL Photographer(s): Christian Richters the Products Walls: Rockwool; Alvon; Rigips; Calduran; Cembonit Floors: Unidek Roof: Dow Corning; Hertalan Ventilation: Stork Plumbing: Duravit