{"id":858,"date":"2014-10-16T11:00:27","date_gmt":"2014-10-16T09:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.area-arch.it\/glass-farm-2\/"},"modified":"2014-12-03T11:53:43","modified_gmt":"2014-12-03T10:53:43","slug":"glass-farm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.area-arch.it\/en\/glass-farm\/","title":{"rendered":"Glass Farm"},"content":{"rendered":"

Schijndel\u2018s market square suffered from Operation Market Garden damages during the Second World War and has been subject to numerous enlargements and refurbishments.\u00a0Winy Maas wrote a letter in 1980, and in 2000 the town council adopted the idea of a new structure in the square between the church, town hall and main street.\u00a0MVRDV since then iteratively proposed new options that could fill the gap of this unusually large village square. The Glass Farm is MVRDV\u2018s seventh proposal for the site, earlier designs included\u00a0a theatre. The village engaged vividly in the process resulting in heated debates, polls and polemics in the local press \u2013 by supporters and adversaries. The 1600 sqm building which is entirely covered by a glass facade consists primarily\u00a0of a series of public amenities such as restaurants, shops\u00a0and a wellness centre.
\nBy coincidence, the maximum envelope that was defined\u00a0by the town planners had\u00a0the form of a traditional Schijndel farm.\u00a0All remaining historical local farms were measured, analyzed and an \u2018ideal\u2018 average was conceived from this data. In collaboration\u00a0with MVRDV, artist Frank van der Salm photographed all\u00a0the remaining traditional farms, and from these an image of the \u2018typical farm\u2018 was composed.\u00a0This image was printed using fritted procedure onto the 1800 sqm glass facade, resulting in an effect such\u00a0as a stained glass window\u00a0in a cathedral.\u00a0The print is more or less translucent depending on the need for light and views.\u00a0At night the structure will be illuminated from the inside, becoming a monument to the farm. At a height of 14 metres the Glass Farm is intentionally designed out of scale and is 1.6 times larger than a real farm, symbolizing the village growing into a town.\u00a0The printed image follows this \u2018augmented history\u2018,\u00a0with the superimposed farm door for example appearing\u00a04 metres tall.\u00a0When adults interact with the building, they can experience toddler size again, possibly adding an element of nostalgic remembrance to their reception of the building.\u00a0 To enhance this further, there will be a table and swing next to the building, a scaled up farmyard.
\nCoinciding with the completion of the building, an exhibition opens in the local Museum Jan Heestershuis about Context and Authenticity. Later this year a book will be published by NAi Publishers exploring the development of the Glass Farm, including a literary description of the lengthy processes which lead to its realisation.\u00a0MVRDV realised the building for RemBrand developers, a combination of Van Den Brand Real Estate and Remmers Construction Group, together with Hooijen Engineers, IOC Ridderkerk for installations, Brakel Atmos for the facade and AGC for the print.<\/p>\n