This weekend I had the chance to see the impressive glass-brick façade of the Chanel store in Amsterdam’s PC Hooftstraat. The bricks of traditional Dutch townhouses have been replaced by innovative transparent glass replicas up to the 2nd floor, dissolving into traditional terracotta brick.
This weekend I had the chance to see the impressive glass-brick façade of the Chanel store in Amsterdam’s PC Hooftstraat. The bricks of traditional Dutch townhouses have been replaced by innovative transparent glass replicas up to the 2nd floor, dissolving into traditional terracotta brick. It was really surprising to discover that this glass façade in fact has no additional structural elements other than glass bricks glued together.
The architects, MVRDV from Rotterdam, explain that many buildings on this street have lost elements of their original architecture, after once-residential street PC Hooftstraat started to turn into a luxury shopping destination. Now, cast in glass, they should stay preserved for a while.
Whatever the reason, I found the final result stunningly beautiful and very poetic. Definitely worth passing by if you’re in Amsterdam: CHANEL Boutique, Pieter Cornelisz Hooftstraat 94-96, 1071 CA Amsterdam
