De Architekten Cie of Amsterdam defied the convention that utility buildings need to be discreet. Instead, in 2009 architects Branimir Medić and Pero Puljiz completed a delftware-inspired structure called the Stadshaard (literally the ‘city hearth’) that is home to the heat and power utilities for the district of Roombeek in Enschede, the Netherlands. They created one massive piece of ceramic-inspired art.
The firm recognized that combined heat and power plants are usually neutral industrial structures that are situated at some inconspicuous location. But that standard is a problem when the Stadshaard building, with its 40-meter-tall chimney, stands prominently within the city. It’s impossible to make this building blend in with its surroundings.
The Stadshaard’s basic form is a simple wedge with the prominent chimney. It’s clad in one-metre-square panels with expressive motifs and figurative depictions. These are reminiscent of tiles that line Holland’s traditional open hearths and hint that this structure might have something to do with fire and warmth. Delftware tiles traditionally have motifs that are anecdotes about everyday life. For the tile artwork, de Architekten Cie turned to Dutch artist Hugo Kaagman, who has made a career of updating and subverting the principles of Delftware. The depictions on the Stadshaard building allude to energy generation, famous buildings or people from Enschede, and to themes that recur often in the work and life of Kaagman.
Above image: The Stadshaard building by de Architekten Cie in Enschede, the Netherlands, completed 2009. Courtesy of the architects. Photograph by Jeroen Musch.
The Stadshaard building by de Architekten Cie in Enschede, the Netherlands evokes thoughts of power and warmth using delftware-inspired tile. Courtesy of the architects. Photography by Jeroen Musch and Hugo Kaagman.
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