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The Elsevier building, beside the Amsterdam ring road, has been given a new lease of life as student accommodation. The original design by Willem Dudok and Robert Magnée was the starting point for the renovation of the facade by Knevel Architecten. The gables were completely renewed but the dark-brown glazed bricks were replaced. ‘Perhaps sleeker than the original design’, explains architect Benjamin Robichon.
Knevel Architecten was commissioned in 2012 to carry out renovation and redevelopment. A thorough study of the original design provided surprising insights and gave an interesting image of the times, says Benjamin Robichon, architect and partner at the architectural firm. 'The Elsevier building was completed in 1964, after Dudok retired. It was originally intended to be eighteen storeys high, according to photographs of scale models and the drawings. It faces towards the outskirts of the city, which was no longer logical after the ring road was built.’ The building was originally called Zaanstad but was soon dubbed the Elsevier building by locals because the publisher and editors of the weekly magazine were based there for many years.
The Elsevier building fits into a certain era: the Dudok and Magnée port building next to Amsterdam Central Station has a similar composition with fairly closed front facades and open longitudinal facades. When it comes to materials, it appears that glazed bricks were also used by other architects at that time. The Nederlandsche Bank by Duintjer (completed in 1961) shows horizontal bands of glazed bricks. Whether Dudok personally chose the colour and nuances of the glazed bricks of the Elsevier building can no longer be determined. ‘Probably not,’ thinks Benjamin Robichon. ‘That must have been in the hands of his firm.’ Dudok retired in 1954 but continued to remain involved with his company.
Fortunately, the floor plan for the building was well preserved. The old gables consisted of concrete prefab elements with glued, glazed brick strips. Robichon: 'Those elements had to be replaced: it was impossible to achieve a good insulation value there. Moreover, we wanted to add a number of facade openings to capture more daylight in the spaces behind.'
In order to create "virtually" the same image, an intensive process was set up in conjunction with Commissie Welstand and Monumenten from the Municipality of Amsterdam in order to determine the correct choice of brick and glaze. 'The format is identical to the original: a Hilversum format. We were looking for a mixture of colours, because a single colour creates a very monotonous image. We were looking for three or four nuances. In addition to this you can vary in colour, gloss and shades – it is a complex and lengthy process.'
Robichon suspects that about ten mock-ups were made before there a result was reached that everyone could agree to. 'It’s not only about the brick blend, but also about the colour and the size of the mortar. We hung the mock-ups next to the existing brickwork to see if we had achieved the right effect. Each brick was given a different number and that is how we started combining.’ The Wienerberger Panningen sample library played an important role in this. Every two weeks there was a construction meeting and new samples arrived. 'The committee was extremely strict: it had to be absolutely perfect. The choice for the right brick combination and pointing really turned out to be a matter of patience.
The structure of the new front facades is clearly different from the original: wood frame construction elements were now used, clad with a fibre cement plate. The glazed brick strips were then glued on to it on site. 'It was important that the new facade had the same rhythm as the original. Which meant solid. The new windows in the facade follow the rhythm of the glazed brick and were given dark window frames. 'We searched for the most harmonious proportion,' explains the architect. 'In the dimensions and detailing, preserving the character of the front facades was paramount.'
For the corner solution – the pointed front facades slightly extend around the corner to the longitudinal wall – a special ceramic element was sought first of all. Robichon: 'Because you are dealing with an existing building that moves and has different tolerances, it was not possible. We therefore reverted to the original detail. Those drawings still existed and we translated them to reflect the new situation.’ All glazed brick strips were then cemented into place in situ in tile bond. 'A beautiful size and very well done. I can boldly say that the front facades are now more powerful than before. For example, the lines between the prefab elements of the facade construction are no longer visible. The appearance has been improved using modern-day techniques.'
Ligthart: ‘Because this is a meticulous job - you can see if something has been skipped right away - they need to feel at ease during the job'.
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