Live Music Venue, Grenswerk

LIVE MUSIC VENUE, GRENSWERK

van Dongen-Koschuch

Live Music Venue, Grenswerk

STATUS
Built

AREA
25,000 sqft - 100,000 sqft

BUDGET
$5M - 10M

YEAR
2014

LOCATION
Venlo, Netherlands

TYPE
Commercial › Office Cultural › Hall/Theater Educational › Auditorium Hospitality +Sport › Bar/Nightclub Industrial › Warehouse

Live Music Venue, Grenswerk

Q4, part of the medieval city on the Maas, is to be the future creative and cultural heart of Venlo. The culturally historical structures are the carriers of the new urban development.

The characteristic medieval and 19th century urban blocks are starting points for the development plan of the area.

The building envelope restores an architectural mass to the site that emulates the surrounding housing.

Live Music Venue, Grenswerk
Live Music Venue, Grenswerk

Given its distinctive function, we have chosen a sensitve, yet tough volume, which corresponds to the typology of a warehouse.

The volume in this way elegantly blends into its densely built urban environment.

Live Music Venue, Grenswerk
Live Music Venue, Grenswerk

The roofline is careful to respect the historical center and can be seen clearly in the roof capping. 

As a result, this cap structure becomes a main characteristic of the building, an architectural statement.

Live Music Venue, Grenswerk
Live Music Venue, Grenswerk
Live Music Venue, Grenswerk

From the entrance one has a beautiful view of the strong roof line, which continues inside on entering the building, allowing the user to read its honest structure.

The facade refers again to factory house history in an abstract and decorative way.

Through large punctured windows the programme of the building can be clearly read from outside.

Live Music Venue, Grenswerk
Live Music Venue, Grenswerk
Live Music Venue, Grenswerk

The building plot in relation to the seating requirements of the main hall is limited. Therefore, the careful positioning of the hall was a determining factor in the design.

Centrally placing and lifting the hall above ground level opened up attractive possibilities for positioning the public functions; the entrance, the PopCafe, rehearsal rooms and the loading and unloading areas.

Live Music Venue, Grenswerk
Live Music Venue, Grenswerk

This also creates a sound buffer to the surrounding residential area which is further strengthened by the circulation and ultilies housed in the void.

The void connects entrance, foyer and halls, and subsequently the artists,office workers and visitors.

Live Music Venue, Grenswerk
Live Music Venue, Grenswerk

The program is positioned to create an open, transparent atmosphere on the ground floor, with an inviting plinth connecting to the urban fabric.

The pop temple has the appearance of interaction and socializing with visible activities.

Live Music Venue, Grenswerk
Live Music Venue, Grenswerk

The Rehearsal Studios have windows onto the entrance area and PopCafe. Music making is therfore visible to all visitors and passers-by.