Meeting place
Cathedral Made of Wood: Shopping Centre in Groningen
© Ronald Tilleman
Along with its function as a source of everyday supplies, SuperHub Meerstad by De Zwarte Hond is also a place for people to come together and mix socially. The shopping centre's imposing timber supporting structure is its distinctive feature. The project provides the young district at the eastern outskirts of Groningen a combination of shopping centre and covered market paired with a high degree of identity-fostering potential.
© Ronald Tilleman
Supporting structure
In designing the building, the Dutch architects opted for a timber supporting structure evocative of a cathedral. Twenty-two formidable timber cross columns bear the roof beams, their cruciform shape bracing the building and providing it the necessary stability. Expanses of glazing between the columns let in abundant natural light and open views deep into the interior.
The roof is rounded at the corners and extends five metres beyond the walls, thus shielding the covered-market-type supermarket from direct sunlight while also forming a sheltered area open to the surroundings.
© Ronald Tilleman
Resource
Thanks to large spans and the nine-metre ceiling height, the sales areas make an airy and spacious impression, plus the design enables adjustment of uses in a flexible manner. Quality materials that follow circular economy principles have been utilised and if so required can be completely dismantled and recycled. The roof features solar arrays and abundant vegetation plus air conditioning and geothermal heat ensure a pleasant indoor climate in the commercial building, thus rounding off the ecological and sustainable concept of the project in an energy-efficient way.
© Ronald Tilleman
© Ronald Zijlstra
Social meeting point
The supermarket and café are not the sole functions of the new-build, which is also to become a place for people from the whole neighbourhood to gather and intermingle. In providing room for social activities, the open arrangement of space makes the new-build a multi-functional hub for the new district of Meerstad.
Architecture: De Zwarte Hond
Client: MWPO
Location: 9613CG Meerstad (NL)
Structural engineering: Pieters Bouwtechniek
Landscape architecture: LAOS Landschapsarchitecten
Technical consulting: DGMR, Nijeboer-Hage Technisch adviseurs
Gallery
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