What's going on?
PROGRAM
At the heart of the design is the Microlab building. The revitalization of the West Wing of Microlab creates a mixed-use program on the three existing floors and an extra fourth floor in the extension built on the western part. The ground floor consists of an open and public plan filled with retail and a lounge. The first floor holds the design and technology museum with a connection to the history of Eindhoven and the creative atmosphere in Strijp-S, keeping the soul of the Dutch Design Week alive all year long. Finally, the vibrant food market and its indoor terrace with a view of the public square and the rest of Strijp-S, top the building.
The interactive museum about technology and design located on the first floor shows the raw existing steel structures. The hall, a single open space, houses five large boxes containing a variety of functions, including workshops and an auditorium. The flexible, open exhibition spaces are filled with the works of young designers and collaborates with Futurelab.
The newly built extension to the building connects all floors through big staircases, large openings in the floors and a skylight stretching over the full roof. Visitors going up the stairs experience a transition from old to new, from the raw concrete structure to the existing steel frames and finally to the light timber structure of the second floor.
HOW
IT'S
MADE
The structural system utilizes the already existing structure of Microlab. Adjustments are made to open up the western façade, while minimizing the impact on the already existing structure. Where the building is opened up on the first floor, a new timber construction is nestled in the industrial concrete and steel structure, merging old and new. The timber structure of glulam and Holz100 floors is responsible for transferring the forces to the old structure, whereas the new structure will be connected to the old structure such that stability is guaranteed by the existing cores, which are extended to the new floor. Two new shear walls ensure that the stability of the old structure is guaranteed, as a part of the structural system is removed which compromises the stability. The roofing system remains largely intact, only removing the cellular concrete panels for skylights. These panels, in combination with the purlins, are reused as the roofing system for the new extension, recycling the existing materials.
STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS
HOW
IT
OPERATES
FACADE
The old and new meet in the south and north façade of Microlab, still preserving the existing raw concrete panels and columns, and showing the steel structure inside as relict of the past production era, while opening up the plinth and letting in more daylight through the added curtain wall. At the same time, the new timber extension forms a big contrast to the existing Microlab materialization.
The Microlab renovation is characterized by the combination of old and new, this is no exception for the structural systems. Custom-made connections allow for the innovative connection of the old and new structural members. The shear walls are extended with Holz100 panels that are held in place by steel tension rods to ensure the walls mostly undergo compressive forces. The extension of the steel columns requires custom connectors as these columns vary in height, which in turn means the columns meet the beams at varying heights. This custom connector allows for a geometry which can be used for any column height.