Heatherwick and BARCODE selected to deliver net-zero mixed-use design in Utrecht
By Josh Niland|
Thursday, Apr 6, 2023
Heatherwick Studio will design its first-ever project in the Netherlands after being named part of the winning team of an international competition to deliver a new mixed-used civic space in the city of Utrecht.
The studio will be joined by BARCODE Architects for the new Oopen project, which will look to create a new building meant to serve as a hub for culture, work, and leisure in the city’s Jaarbeursplein central square. The pair are teaming with developer Edge for its construction and say it will be developed along lines related to Utrecht's 2040 vision for Healthy Urban Living.
Thomas Heatherwick stated: “This building on Jaarbeursplein is the result of an extraordinary collaboration with the forward-thinking municipality of Utrecht. The leadership team challenged us to create a special place that reflects the urgent need for healthier cities that bring people back together again. The result isn’t just a design for another office building but a thrilling opportunity to activate the square and create a surprising, new public place for this historic city.”
A press announcement noted their intentions toward a varied program, supported by an adaptable steel and timber structure, that includes a nightclub, outdoor skate park, kiosks, a multipurpose sports facility, landscaped terraces, dining options, and ground-level mobility hub.
The studio claims this will be the Netherlands' first net-zero mixed-use high-rise construction. Plans are for construction to start in 2025, with the project's completion expected by the year 2028.
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7 Comments
Gary Garvin · Apr 06, 23 10:01 PM
What is Heatherwick, what is BARCODE in this design?
CC Chiang · Apr 07, 23 1:12 AM
Makes you wonder if the architects at Heatherwick are making their mark on the firm, given their boss really doesn't have any architectural training. It's an interesting dynamic.
On the one hand, you have the founder whose name alone wins businesses all over the world. But he is an artist and sculptor. The people who work for him and who actually execute the designs are probably more versed in the AEC profession - not to mention the local executives.
Who knows. Maybe sometimes Heatherwick has a pretty cool idea but his staff and partners water it down to generic designs. Say, he's thinking "What if we have a building that looks like a pineapple?" They've done lanterns, acorns, and flowers already. A pineapple seems a viable candidate. The idea gets passed down to the partner in charge and his team ... and maybe the image above is what you get after a dozen more layers of execution.
____ · Apr 07, 23 2:05 AM
Imo projects by Heatherwick and BIG are uninspired and never go anywhere beyond the initial concept.
They appear to be the result of extrapolating descriptive abstractions rather than form and space diagrams.
There doesn't seem to be a basis for an internal dialog and decision making process that would create a compelling design.
pandahut · Apr 07, 23 2:14 AM
net zero but clad in all glass curtain wall looooool
CC Chiang · Apr 07, 23 3:07 PM
I mean .. Heatherwick's MO is form making. Developers and patrons hire them to create something iconic looking. He is a sculptor first and foremost. They see a shape they like and then blow it up 1000-fold.
Edward Singer · Apr 07, 23 9:58 PM
Capricious & arbitrary
Gary Garvin · Apr 07, 23 10:00 PM
(I couldn't find a good picture of her pineapple hat.)
This building is a significant event for the forward thinking Utrecht that will be around for years, by an architect who is taken seriously by many, with the number of his works growing, seemingly exponentially.
I follow buildings to get a sense of our culture now. The news isn't good. I'm curious how architectural historians will treat Heatherwick years from now.
Ian Parker's "Thomas Heatherwick, Architecture's Showman," The New Yorker, is a good read. Archinect noted it a few years ago. Excerpts:
Conran has called Heatherwick “the Leonardo da Vinci of our times”
“Thomas is probably the most creative person in the world"—this from Stephen Ross, Hudson Yards developer.
Will Hurst, an editor and writer at The Architects’ Journal, in London, recently suggested that Heatherwick, more than any other British designer, knows “how to pull the levers of power.”
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/02/26/thomas-heatherwick-architectures-showman
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