Platform on architecture, interior design and landscape architecture
Successful first edition in Amsterdam region
Business at ARCHITECT@WORK Amsterdam.

Successful first edition in Amsterdam region

Inspiration and innovation in Taets 

One more time Archicomm looks back at ARCHITECT@WORK in the Amsterdam region. On Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 September 2023, the event took place at Taets on the Hembrugterrein in Zaanstad. With over two thousand visitors, it was a successful first edition, according to the organization.

In any case, the organization of ARCHITECT@WORK guaranteed a good atmosphere. Of course, this is related to the fixed format of the event. Visitors saw small but well-organized booths, completely focused on real novelties. This makes it possible to discover many great products in a short time. In addition, the free catering means exhibitors and visitors lack nothing. However, the first edition in Zaandam was not yet as well attended as the last two editions in Rotterdam (over 3,000 visitors in 2020 and 3,580 in 2022). Perhaps this had to do with the good weather, or the architects still need to get used to the fact that the fair now takes place every year in the Netherlands.

2023 09 27 16.00.17
At Beal International's booth, BEALSTONE® Granito/Terrazzo attracted a lot of attention.

"We are very happy with the concept of ARCHITECT@WORK," explained a Carpentier spokesperson. "The fact that every company has the same booth is something we really like, so we participate in several editions. In the Netherlands, but also in Kortrijk." The event featured the company's new Uni Line system, a circular cladding made from HOTwood ash that is fastened without visible nails or screws. More on this starting on page 104.

11 2023 09 27 aw amsterdam full jpg 0037 10 10 2023 16 33 43EN
Relax and network at ARCHITECT@WORK.

Acquisitions create new opportunities

Several companies told of changes within their companies at ARCHITECT@WORK Amsterdam. For example, Performance in Lighting Netherlands (PIL) has joined the GEWISS Group. Specifically, this means that the company's lighting branch will be expanded to include new sectors. However, PIL will additionally distribute GEWISS' four other segments in the Netherlands. More on this on pages 46 and 47. Much has also changed for another exhibitor. This spring, the Dutch producer of fiber cement products Cembrit merged into the larger Swisspearl. That new brand name takes some getting used to for visitors, said Dennis Schoonemeijer. "However, we can now supply Swisspearl's other, high-quality products and have had good and sincere conversations here." 

Unifit has been involved in high-end lighting projects for 25 years and is an official partner of Casambi. "This is the next big thing, this is what we are convinced of," an employee of the company told us. "Major stakeholders, such as Osram, Occio and many others, are already embracing the operating system. As a result, it is spreading very quickly. 

12 22 CARPENTIER STEEL HIGH 3
Carpentier's Uni Line system.

One of the big advantages is that it is not brand-specific and no infrastructure needs to be built. This allows great flexibility, and we were able to tell this story to many interested architects at ARCHITECT@WORK."

Lighting specialist Unlumited Lighting Solutions was also present at Taets. "This beautiful fair is the place to be for an architectural lighting brand," explained Senior Product Manager Henk Schaap. During the event, the concept of "Lighting, your way," was central for the company. With this, Unlumited Lighting Solutions emphasizes that it wants to deliver a solution tailored to the specific needs of the architect.

Modular units very popular

Brakel Wall Systems was also present at this edition of ARCHITECT@WORK and, in its own words, found here the interest the company is looking for. The modular Brakel Qubes units are well received in the market. They allow the client to choose which components should be closed, or rather made of glass, and where the door should be located. Even after purchase, the Qubes are easy to modify or relocate. In June, Archicomm reported that over 400 Qubes had been delivered, but by the end of this year, the company says there will be 800.

2023 09 27 aw amsterdam full jpg 0017 10 10 2023 16 30 39ENT I
The familiar format of ARCHITECT@WORK.

Lectures on sustainable building

Step by step, we are moving toward a building that is circular, biobased, nature-inclusive and energy-positive. Around this transition, Architectenweb organized a series of lectures at Architect@Work that usually attracted about one hundred and forty participants. 

In her talk at ARCHITECT@WORK, architect Nina Aalbers of ArchitectuurMaken talked about how her firm is increasingly building in wood. ArchitectuurMaken calculates the CO2 emissions per square meter of every project to systematically determine that it is on track to meet the Paris climate goals. She advises other firms to do the same. She also uses second-hand materials. She likes to design nesting boxes as ornaments or jewelry in the facade so that they enrich the design. 

2023 09 27 15.11.37
The lectures at the fair attracted about one hundred and forty participants at a time.

Architect Joost Roefs of De Twee Snoeken compares the transition we face to the period at the beginning of the twentieth century when industrialization of construction went hand in hand with the rise of modernism. In his view, the current transition to circular, biobased and energy-positive architecture will also result in buildings that look different. Thinking from the point of view of CO2 reduction, he believes the starting point is to preserve as much as possible what is already there, and strategically renew that. In the case of new construction, he and his team like to design buildings that are easy to transform, or that are also easy to disassemble later. Circular constructions, in other words. The use of as many bio-based materials as possible fits in with this. 

In his lecture, architect Aleksander Kongshaug of GXN - the research arm of 3XN - showed initiatives to harvest and reuse existing building materials. Because materials are usually not designed to be taken apart again, this is enormously difficult, he told us. So we really need to design new construction so that it can be taken apart again. At the same time, GXN is also looking at new, biobased materials. In that context, he showed a currently experimental material from BioMason that is bound by bacteria and is both stronger and lighter than concrete. For an exhibition in Copenhagen, GXN made a column with the material for the first time. 

Finally, urban planner Marco Broekman of BURA urbanism showed during ARCHITECT@WORK how the area will be transformed in the coming decades into a mixed residential-working area, building on the area's characteristic fabric and with the wooded nature
will be preserved.

Back in Rotterdam in 2024

The organization of Architect@Work has chosen an annual frequency in the Netherlands. As its location, it will alternate between Rotterdam Ahoy and Taets on the Hembrug site in Zaandam. The event will return to Rotterdam on September 11 and 12, 2024.

Heeft u vragen over dit artikel, project of product?

Neem dan rechtstreeks contact op met Architect at Work.

AW Contact opnemen

Stel je vraag over dit artikel, project of product?

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

"*" indicates required fields

Send us a message

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Wij gebruiken cookies. Daarmee analyseren we het gebruik van de website en verbeteren we het gebruiksgemak.

Details

Kunnen we je helpen met zoeken?

Bekijk alle resultaten