To mark this anniversary, the LIAG team is reflecting on several notable projects from our past this year. BIM expert Martin Pasman chose a true eye-catcher: ROC Mondriaan in The Hague. This striking building, located next to The Hague Hollands Spoor station and on Leeghwaterplein, has served as the educational institution's flagship for fifteen years. The façade stands out with its clean grid formed by square elements of white, architectural concrete. Each frame encloses either a window frame with glass or a glass panel (integrated during production) in one of five Mondriaan colors: red, blue, yellow, light gray, and dark gray. The design committee at the time described the architecture as sophisticated in materialization and detailing. Martin views this building as a future monument.
The rhythmic precision of the façade gives the building an apparently simple appearance, but appearances can be deceiving. Martin explains: "The design was a complex puzzle. We didn't have parametric design tools available back then. We struggled considerably to ensure, for example, that two panels of the same color wouldn't be placed next to each other. That was one of the key design principles. We succeeded on paper; in practice, almost completely – except for two spots. Such a project is ultimately human work. And once you know it, that's the first thing you notice when walking past the building."
"The design was complex, and so was its technical construction." This was mainly due to the location: the building sits on top of a tram tunnel," Martin explains. "We had to account for the weight. Despite the repeating grid, it was necessary to combine different building systems to achieve this result: prefabricated concrete façade elements, with or without an inner cavity sheet, which was either prefabricated or had to be cast on site. Realizing this Mondriaan composition required intensive collaboration between us as architects, the manufacturer of these elements, and the contractor. We delivered an impressive achievement."
