Winners of the Dutch Design Awards 2013 - Spatial Category

The annual Dutch Design Awards announced its 2013 winners last weekend in the three main categories of Spatial, Communication and Product. This year's award winner in the category Spatial - Best Exterior is BiermanHenket Architecten's Extension of the Museum De Fundatie in Zwolle, NL. The Spatial - Best Interior title went to Uitwerde Tower by Onix.

Read on for some more information about the two victorious Spatial projects.

"The new building volume on top of the neoclassical Museum de Fundatie has a whitish blue skin with a large glass window facing the city. Its coating consists of 55,000 three-dimensional tiles, produced by Royal Tichelaar Makkum. 

Selection committee: Museum de Fundatie has recently undergone a complete renovation, but this nomination concerns specifically the ‘cloud’ covered with three-dimensional tiles. The committee of Spatial is of the opinion that the detailing and specific architectural components are indeed an inherent part of a design award. In this case, the project generates a huge impact in the city; the ‘cloud’ has an incredible presence." — more info

"The voluminous staircase designed by Onix adds to the enrichment of the thirteenth-century church tower of Uitwierde. Clashes between the original features and the modern staircase make climbing the stairs a challenge and an unforgettable experience.  

Selection committee: the design directs the gaze of the visitor in a surprising way. You move and you are guided by the design. In addition, the modern staircase subtly creates friction with the medieval building." — more info