Urban renewal in Meppel

In the Dutch town of Meppel, a vacant former ‘Scheer en Foppen’ store underwent a complete transformation. The existing structure was stripped back to its core and rebuilt using façade bricks in a slim 65 mm format.

The perfect fit

Architect Jacco Baars explains enthusiastically: “The existing building was maligned by many and did not fit into the street scene at all. With this new design, we have made this part of the city centre more attractive and better integrated into its surroundings.”

For this renovation, Morphique Architects chose the narrow Archipolis Barn Bruin façade brick, an extruded press in EcoBrick format. It was selected for its appearance as well as the material characteristics associated with its slim format.

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 format with a width of 65 mm. This reduces the volume of the outer leaf and creates more space for insulation. 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 slimmer brick format, 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.”