Dutch studio Kaan Architecten has added a customer centre to the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, with a concrete type that references American memorial structure.
The one American cemetery on Dutch soil, the Netherlands American Cemetery (NEAC) was devoted in 1960 throughout a 26.5-hectare web site close to Maastricht to commemorate troopers who died within the second world warfare.
In 2017, Kaan Architecten was commissioned by the American Battle Monuments Fee so as to add a customer centre to the landscaped web site, offering a small show area and an auditorium.
To respect the cemetery’s current “monumental ensemble” and reference American memorial structure, the studio created a concrete and glass type that may “declare its personal area whereas mixing into the larger complete”.
“The US has a powerful custom in the case of memorials,” Kaan Architecten co-founder Vincent Panhuysen instructed Dezeen.
“Simply go searching in DC – one memorial after one other,” he continued.
“Many wars and struggles for freedom are commemorated, all designed and in-built a really stable method with the intention of preserving these sacrifices for eternity,” added Panhuysen.
“All these monuments are vital constructions, carved in stone and forged in concrete, with the aim of putting up with for a lot of generations. This inspiring idea has set the tone for the design of this constructing for us,” he continued.
Situated east of the cemetery’s central courtroom of honour, a winding pathway framed by timber gently slopes downwards right into a concrete patio on the entrance of the customer centre. Right here, a row of concrete blocks offers seating.
The bottom flooring of the centre is wrapped totally by full-height glazing, which is put in with minimal framing to make it “nearly invisible”.
Above, a facade of layered, poured concrete surrounds the higher story. Supported by the inner concrete partitions, this permits a small gentle hole to be created between the facade and the roof.
“From a distance, the constructing seems as nothing greater than a floating stone above the grass,” mentioned Panhuysen. “The museum inside and beneath the hollowed-out stone is hardly seen from the surface, whereas the panorama and cemetery are ever-present from inside.”
Inside, the wood-lined auditorium and customer services sit on the centre of the area behind poured concrete partitions that mirror the looks of the outside.
Curved nooks at every nook of the auditorium goal to “improve the notion of spaciousness” for the show areas, which inform the private tales of a few of these buried within the cemetery.
Led by Kees Kaan, Panhuysen and Dikkie Scipio, Kaan Architecten has places of work in Rotterdam, São Paolo and Paris. The studio beforehand regarded to concepts of monumentality in its extension of the Museum Paleis Het Bathroom in Apeldoorn.
Different current initiatives by the studio embrace the Loenen Pavilion, which presents area to relaxation and mirror in one other Dutch warfare cemetery.
The pictures is by Simon Menges.
Undertaking credit:
Architect: Kaan Architecten
Panorama designer: Karres + Manufacturers landschapsarchitecten B.V., Hilversum
Structural designer and supervisor: Pieters Bouwtechniek, Delft
Civil designer and supervisor: Smits Rinsma, Zutphen
Mechanical and electrical designer and supervisor: HP Engineers, Gent
Constructing physics supervisor: DGMR, The Hague
Hearth security engineer: DGMR, The Hague
Acoustics advisor: DGMR, The Hague
Constructing prices advisor: B3 Bouwadviseurs, Wassenaar
Web site coordination supervisor: INEX Architecten, Maastricht
Primary contractor: Groep Van Roey, Rijkevorsel
Structural engineer: DeClerk & Companions, Waregem
Structural engineer contractor: C T de Boer, Nieuwegein
Mechanical engineer: Deltha, Diepenbeek
Electrical engineer: Maris, Heusden-Zolder
Civil engineer: Dirix, Elsloo
