Anonymous utility buildings dot our cities, keeping the other buildings humming -- but they're almost never part of the aesthetic fabric of the urban scene. Taking this into account, we were excited to see this unique power plant clad in beautiful Delftware tiles. Designed by Dutch architecture design firm Cie in collaboration with artist Hugo Kaagman, this new Combined Cycle Energy plant (CHP) in downtown Roombeek is an extraordinary ode to the past and a celebration of modern infrastructure. The building has been named Stadshaard (which translates to ‘city hearth’), to honor the source of the city’s light and heat.
“power plant clad in one square meter of beautiful Delftware tiles”
I think it must be about 3 orders of magnitude more than that.
@drdea: I guess that was a blotched cut&paste job. The source article read: “Its basic form is simple, while its elevations are clad in one-metre-square panels with expressive motifs and figurative depictions.” This solves the confusion. The tiles themselves are not real tiles, of course, wonder what material was used for the panels. Being Dutch, I would have hoped for a less pop-artsy variety. I’ve seen several really old (16th C) tiles with hand painted motifs, and they are way more delicate and beautiful than these travesties.
Whata beautiful building! I could sit in front of it for hours!
A swing… and a miss. I’m glad that (apparently by virtue of osmosis) at least something of my previous comments has penetrated the thick skulls of the lads running this blog: good design blends into it’s local environment. Now, I just wish the volks responsible for this post would start using their judgment or their eyes instead of copying press-releases verbatim. Look at the buildings in the background. Does this monstrosity meld with them in any meaningful way what so ever? Correct answer: no.
[...] Egeraat’s design of the plant makes the incinerator not just a power station, but also an icon on the horizon. Circular openings in the building’s aluminum facade serve to transform the station into a [...]
Recently the Stadshaard of Enschede was selected by the readers of the NRC Handelsblad as being ‘the ugliest building of the Netherlands’. The editor of this Dutch newspaper was surprised by this choice and concludes that striking architecture always tends to be controversial. Architect Branimir Medić is content with the outcome: “The difference between ugly or beautiful is often minute. If you asked people to select the most beautiful building they might end up picking the Stadshaard as well. See video the making of http://t.co/lRtW70z
It’s actually interesting, but weird. Where as in the past architects were commissioned even when they designed industrial buildings. If you want a power plant done right, look no further than New York City’s 58th street IRT Powerhouse.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/W58th_St_IRT_power_jeh.JPG
This makes perfect sense to me. There is a tradition of using Delftware tiles to make masonry heaters or to use them as backing panels on cast iron stoves. This co-generation plant is a heater for the town. Why not make it look like a tegelkachel? (kachelofen)