
Netherlands Dance Theatre
The Hague, Netherlands · 1988
Photo · © ESTO
A key precedent for early Dutch deconstructivism and postmodern collage architecture, demonstrating how disparate geometric volumes and materials can be assembled to define a civic plaza.
- What we like about this project
- The golden inverted-cone volume acts as a floating, sculptural focal point above the glazed entrance.
Materials
- stucco
- glass
- steel
- corrugated-metal
- concrete-paver
Visual identifiers
- inverted-cone
- ribbon-windows
- plaza-staircase
- graphic-mural
- collaged-volumes
Style tags
- deconstructivist
- postmodern
- early-oma
Visual tags
- postmodernism
- deconstructivism
- civic-center
- theatre
- urban-plaza
- collage-architecture
- Geometry
- An assemblage of contrasting geometric volumes: a low-slung glazed entrance pavilion, a golden inverted-cone volume, a long horizontal office bar with ribbon windows, and a black fly-tower block topped with a graphic mural.
- Facade system
- Ribbon window curtain wall combined with solid stuccoed massing and a curved structural steel-and-glass storefront.
- Structural guess
- Reinforced concrete frame with steel-framed specialty volumes
- Spatial scale
- Large-scale civic complex with a wide pedestrian plaza and multi-story volumes.
- Lighting
- Bright, direct daylight casting sharp shadows, highlighting the contrasting textures and colors of the distinct volumes.
- Atmosphere
- A playful yet stark urban composition defined by contrasting geometries and bold graphic elements.
- Environmental context
- Urban public square flanked by high-rise structures in a dense city center.
- Spatial experience
- The building forms a public plaza edge, with a wide exterior staircase leading up to a secondary level, creating a layered, theatrical public threshold.
- Composition rhythm
- A horizontal office block with repeating ribbon windows contrasts with the singular, expressive forms of the golden cone and the black fly tower.
- Style reading
- Late 1980s Deconstructivist / Postmodern
- Program
- Dance theatre and cultural center
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- stucco, glass, steel, corrugated-metal, concrete-paver
- Visual identifiers
- inverted-cone, ribbon-windows, plaza-staircase, graphic-mural, collaged-volumes
- Style tags
- deconstructivist, postmodern, early-oma
- Visual tags
- postmodernism, deconstructivism, civic-center, theatre, urban-plaza, collage-architecture
- Geometry
- An assemblage of contrasting geometric volumes: a low-slung glazed entrance pavilion, a golden inverted-cone volume, a long horizontal office bar with ribbon windows, and a black fly-tower block topped with a graphic mural.
- Facade system
- Ribbon window curtain wall combined with solid stuccoed massing and a curved structural steel-and-glass storefront.
- Structural guess
- Reinforced concrete frame with steel-framed specialty volumes
- Spatial scale
- Large-scale civic complex with a wide pedestrian plaza and multi-story volumes.
- Lighting
- Bright, direct daylight casting sharp shadows, highlighting the contrasting textures and colors of the distinct volumes.
- Atmosphere
- A playful yet stark urban composition defined by contrasting geometries and bold graphic elements.
- Environmental context
- Urban public square flanked by high-rise structures in a dense city center.
- Spatial experience
- The building forms a public plaza edge, with a wide exterior staircase leading up to a secondary level, creating a layered, theatrical public threshold.
- Composition rhythm
- A horizontal office block with repeating ribbon windows contrasts with the singular, expressive forms of the golden cone and the black fly tower.
- Style reading
- Late 1980s Deconstructivist / Postmodern
- Program
- Dance theatre and cultural center
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture