In the clouds
It’s a view we enjoy every day from Metadecor’s headquarters in Kampen: the beautiful cloudscapes of Overijssel, The Netherlands. Artist Jacob Voerman senior captured these exact views in his oil paintings, more than a century ago. The Kampen-born painter was inspired by the vistas around the river IJssel and brought his fascinations to life in his work, of which the ones with beautiful skies became the most famous. At Metadecor we make facades. And with our own headquarters, we have done what Voerman did: pay a tribute to both the landscape and fine art.
Metadecor’s headquarter is located on the banks of the river IJssel, at the base of the Eilandbrug, It is a somewhat abstract square volume, the place where the most beautiful facades are assembled each day and where we work with local, national and international architects and consultants every day. When the plans for this building were drawn, we knew we wanted to do something special with the façade. Together with the architect of the building NVDTA and artist Chris Kabel we created a bespoke pattern for the western – and most eyecatching - façade of our own building.
The story of Metadecor starts with facades made of expanded metal: three-dimensional, lightweight and with different degrees of transparency and light transmission. Expanded metal has structure and depth, it is a tactile material for any façade. But making patterns with it is quite a challenge. MD Designperforation was introduced: with digitized production methods any pattern is possible. But in the end, the panel remains flat.
MD Formatura was born from the idea of making panels that both have a pattern and an extra dimension, a certain depth. In a patterned perforated panel, parts of the perforation are rotated to create texture and an extra dimension to the pattern. Daylight reflects in different angles and casts shadows. After sunset, the light from within the building lights the façade up like a lantern.
Telling stories
Let’s go back to Jacob Voerman senior. With his paintings, the artist not only wanted to show his love for the landscape an cloudscapes, he also told stories. Every detail, every patch of colour had a meaning. It is a strategy that resonates with Metadecor and the façade we co-create, produce and install. Like a painting, architecture should tell the story of time, location, function and context. That is why we linked – quite literally – Voerman’s artwork to our building. We developed a pattern based on the painting ‘IJsselgezicht’ and translated that to façade elements in MD Formatura. The clouds in Voerman’s painting were converted to pixels, the rotation of the small elements following the shapes and colours in the artwork. We optimized the façade to meet the functional demands, such as sun reflection and (direct – indirect) daylight penetration.
Like many other facades we create, the facade of our headquarters plays a significant role in the energy management of the building. An extra layer of static (or dynamic) sun shading will make the building more energy efficient and often reduces or even obliterates the need for interior shading. The design process of MD Formatura allows for simulations and calculations of transparency, sun penetration and heat load on the glass façade during different times of the day and in every season to optimize each panel. Second skins with MD Formatura also shield the glass façade from wind, rain and dust.
Tribute to the landscape
With graphic artist Chris Kabel – who has designed many patterns and reliefs for Metadecor – we translated Jacob Voerman’s ‘IJsselgezicht’ into our own artwork on the banks of the IJssel. With the instalment of the MD Formatura façade on our headquarters, the sun not only shines on the surface of the river, but on the different fragments of our façade as well. This façade might be a showcase for our products, but it also reminds us of something that is also shown in Voerman’s paintings: that it is a privilege to be in this place, to enjoy the beauty of the landscape. Furthermore, the façade allows us to enjoy architecture on a daily basis and celebrate the role it plays in our lives. And that is why the people at Metadecor are – literally – every day with their heads in the clouds, working together enthusiastically on remarkable facades.
