ICOON in Amersfoort, Netherlands

April 17, 2010 Category: Commercial Building, Cultural, Education, Industry, Public Buildings, Restaurant, Sports

The multifunctional community cluster was designed by DP6 architectuurstudio, that called ICOON is located in Amersfoort, Netherlands. ICOON, a part of the central area of Vathorst is the services cluster for information, culture, education, and sport for the Vathorst housing estate in Amersfoort.

ICOON is a large complex that consisting of the public library, the central access, the restaurants and cafes, and art schools that are all located around the Eikenplein square, which part of the shopping area that runs through the central region, the Vathorst College, the day-care centre, and the sports centre are located along the green avenue at the edge of the central area, and than an art school branch, a local theatre, and a meeting centre.

Since the cluster includes a number of components for general use by the public, both cultural and otherwise, the ICOON has the potential of becoming a cultural centre of some stature, not just for the Vathorst district, but also for the nearby towns. In order not to overwhelm the individual person, the architectural design uses various scale levels, and the building responds to specific user requirements. The design is flexible to enable it to incorporate programme changes in a natural way. In addition, the design is ready to accommodate any future extensions to the Vathorst College.

The architect’s associations for the design were old brick factories on the edges of the historic inner towns, which have found a new use as studios and other cultural functions. They are characterised by the jumble of volumes, the opportunities they offer for expansion and alterations to the complex, as well as the rugged use of building materials such as brick, metal, and glass, with more refined objects located in the interior. The ICOON design concept also includes a roof landscape between these volumes, to be used as an exterior space by the school.

ICOON by DP6 architectuurstudio in Amersfoort Netherlands