beacon

V&D in Alkmaar was built in 1925. During that time this department store ignited the commercial life in Laat, the shopping street. Since then almost every adult citizen of Alkmaar has a (childhood) memory of the spatial experience of this building. The initially compact building underwent three significant expansions, resulting in a large architectural presence in the fine scaled historic city center of Alkmaar. The first expansion in 1933 was a clear continuation of the original architectural style the initial building was built in. The level of detail in this art-deco style was replicated in the new spaces of this expansion. The expansions that followed were relatively sober and focused on the commercial function of a warehouse rather than the architectural details and the spatial experience.

rediscovering V&D

Throughout the years many structural and esthetical layers of V&D became hidden underneath the white blanket of modernity. Peeling off architectural elements like lowered ceilings and retailing walls brings light to the original riches of the building. One of our main goals in this project is to show the riches of the building and to make the different building phases visible for the naked eye. Teaming up with the municipality and various state departments, we are in an advanced stage of repurposing this monument into an object the habitants of Alkmaar can be proud of to live in.