Crystal Houses reopens in Amsterdam
Dutch design practice, MVRDV has reopened their project, Crystal Houses, this time with a new tenant and façade. Originally constructed in 2016 for luxury fashion label Chanel, now it adds another luxury label, Hermès as tenant of the iconic shop front.
The usual brick finish was replaced by a glass replica of the building material, which dissolves into the traditional terracotta bricks on the upper levels. It is located in Amsterdam on the high-end shopping street, PC Hooftstraat.
GALLERY
The project’s jewel-like front was originally proposed as a way for Amsterdam to be home to distinctive, upmarket flagships without compromising the city’s historical character.
The project was created for Amsterdam-based retail and real-estate company, Warenar, envisioned originally as a re-creation of the traditional buildings that make up the existing urban fabric of the area.
To replace the traditional bricks, MVRDV worked with TU Delft, engineering firm ABT and contractor, Wessels Zeist. The materials were provided by glass manufacturer Poesia and Delo Industrial Adhesives. The enormous and intense research behind the project culminated in a shopfront that combines the transparency and delicacy of a glass retail frontage with the intricate complexity of traditional brick constructions.
For more information please visit MVRDV
Images by Daria Scagliola and Stijn Brakkee via of ArchDaily
The latest James Hardie Modern Homes Forecast has identified a decisive shift in Australian residential design, with joy ...
A former 60 square metre street diner at Yongkang Road has been reimagined as a vintage housewares gallery, ...
Emirates has appointed Marriott International to operate its long-closed Wolgan Valley resort, with plans to relaunch the Blue ...
London architecture studio Anomaly has completed Apex, a waterfront co-working space in King’s Cross that challenges the cold, ...
Plans for an innovative Melbourne office building that converts food waste into energy have been placed on public ...