Vanderveen Department Store
Koopmansplein in Assen, The Netherlands
Architectuurstudio Herman Hertzberger

A handsome glazed wall brings character to this town square

© Duccio Malagamba

For more photos click on 'photos & drawings' above. To see the people and products behind this project click on 'people & products.'

Cited in a urban square, this modern insertion makes a lively addition to the traditional buildings surrounding it. In the provincial town of Assen, where people are more accustomed to closed brick facades, this almost entirely glass facade conveys the ambiance of a big city and allows the building to rise above the adjacent competing stores on the square. A shift in the building line allows the existing department store the opportunity to extend itself to a depth of twenty feet with its fully glazed curtain wall, revealing a new face to the square.

The addition stands free of the existing block behind it, like a ship moored alongside with only gangplanks linking it to the quay. Combining a row of slab-shaped columns with cantilevering floors, the design proceeded from a fifteen-foot deep building held clear of the existing department store by a five-foot-wide void. The addition consists of four stories divided into smaller areas by the slab-shaped columns. On the upper floors you can look right through the building, which further accentuates its free-standing nature. The vast display windows show off the variety of products inside. The glass satellite-like addition is one step in a long expansion process. The owners began with one small shop, acquiring more and more buildings and property, eventually occupying most of the block where the store now stands.

Formal name of Project:
Vanderveen Department Store

Location:
Koopmansplein in Assen, The Netherlands

Owner:
Mr. R. en J. Vanderveen

Architect:
Architectuurstudio Herman Hertzberger