Sustainable urban renewal

In the Dutch town of Meppel, a vacant ‘Scheer en Foppen’ shop underwent a complete make-over. The old structure was stripped down to its bones and completely rebuilt, using beautiful façade bricks in slim size of 65 mm.

The perfect fit

Architect Jacco Baars explains enthusiasticly: “The existing building was maligned by many and did not fit into the street scene at all. With this new design we have made a part of the city centre more beautiful and sustainable again!”

For this renovation Morphique Architects chose the narrow Archipolis Barn Bruin façade brick, an extruded press in EcoBrick format. This was the perfect fit, not only because of its look but also because of its low environmental impact.

An easy choice

“We chose the Archipolis Barn Bruin. This extruded brick has an intense dark brown colour with gray, black and white nuances. Characteristics are the smooth to slightly rough texture with small imperfections. The longer and lower format creates a horizontal line effect.

We wanted a modern brick for this project, and we really liked the aesthetics of this one. But because it is an EcoBrick facing brick, it has a slim size with a width of 65 mm. This creates less volume in the outer leaf, more space for insulation and therefore a lower environmental impact. So that’s a bonus.”

Narrow size, big results

Contractor Jan Klaas Lier is also enthusiastic about the use of EcoBrick façade bricks: “This was an existing building with an existing foundation, from which we removed the outer shell. Thanks to the narrower brick we had more room for insulation. In addition, the EcoBrick is a nice product to work with. Our bricklayer found it exciting at first, but once he got started, he became more and more enthusiastic. They are beautiful and light to handle, which was also an advantage for his back.”

The end result was a big success, for everyone involved, says architect Jacco Baars: “We also receive many responses from Meppel residents who think it is a significant improvement compared to what was there. The old shop building did not fit in at all with the architecture of the city centre of Meppel. By dividing the building into two vertically lined façades, creating vertical windows and adding a roof, we have created a modern building with the right size and scale for the city center.”