Aesthetic allure

Aesthetic allure

EINDHOVEN (NL) - The offices that Meyer en Van Schooten Architecten built for Atos Origin on the Philips High Tech Campus Eindhoven consist of two orthogonal volumes, both varying from four to six storeys, placed at right angles to the motorway so that motorists can still see the centre of the campus and the intervening landscape designed by landscape architects Juurlink en Geluk. The design allows for the possibility of a third volume.

The facades are made of glass and translucent Lexan Exell, a polycarbonate material thermoformed into facade panels. The restrained choice of colour was a deliberate move aimed at focusing attention on the campus landscape. Alternating transparent and translucent materials lend the facades a stylish layered quality.

This project is one of several in which Meyer en Van Schooten have chosen to use synthetic materials, whether for facades, as in the FNWI Building currently under construction at the University of Amsterdam's Science Park, for interiors, as in the Shoebaloo shoe stores in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, or for furniture, as in the table system developed for the Ahrend Furniture Group. In such projects, Meyer en Van Schooten not only break free from orthogonal geometry, but also manage to impart an aesthetic allure and distinction to everyday materials. (Hans Ibelings)