Discover Benelux | Architecture | Atelier to the Bone
BROEINEST
A perfect collaboration between the innovators Baars & Bloemhoff and Atelier to the Bone TEXT: EMMIE COLLINGE | PHOTOS: ATELIER TO THE BONE
While many of their contemporaries in the world of architecture struggled to keep afloat, the young studio of Atelier to the Bone (AttB) got off to a flying start, winning a host of awards and international acclaim. How so? It’s thanks to their innovative take on architecture, which is certainly evident in Eindhoven’s Broeinest. Officially opening on 22 January 2015, Broeinest is an exciting new concept by Baars & Bloemhoff in Eindhoven’s creative heart, Strijp-S.
tects, they claim, can essentially build the bridge between changes in society and our built environment. Yet, they insist on the need for a societal catalyst rather than the pure desire to build. As the Finnish architect Juhani Pallasmaa said: “Architecture is about the understanding of the world, and turning it into a more humane place,” and in line with this, the latest generation of architects look further than aesthetics, taking a multi-disciplinary approach and daring to be innovative.
With growing unrest in our society – economic, environmental and social – Atelier to the Bone’s three founders, Jeroen van Aerle, Philippe Rol and Beerd Gieteling, firmly believe that the role of the architect is vital in dealing with these issues. Archi-
Sharing AttB’s urge to innovate is the well-known Baars & Bloemhoff, a fixture in the world of material supplies. Reacting to the decline in construction since 2008, Baars & Bloemhoff have welcomed the challenge to create new concepts.
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“What remains is change, and what changes remains,” explains Bart Dekkers, Baars & Bloemhoff’s director and the creator of the Broeinest concept. With their ‘Broeinest voor creativiteit’ (hotbed of creativity) at Eindhoven’s StrijpS, they’ve taken the initiative to create a space that directly connects their materials with the new generation of creative professionals. This responds impeccably to the needs of the growing population of self-employed creatives, who often do not have a close network of contemporaries or materials to work with. Dekkers explains this is exactly how Broeinest is facilitating change: “We’ve taken the lead together with brands such as Forbo, Interface, DRT, Sphinx and Modular to