Location: Schijndel, Netherlands.

Architect: MVRDV.

The Glass Farm is a 1600m² building in Schijndel’s market square, designed by MVRDV. The building is entirely covered by a glass facade and consists primarily of public amenities such as restaurants, shops, and a wellness center. The glass facade is printed with an image of a traditional Schijndel farm, which was composed from photographs of all the remaining traditional farms in the area. The image is printed using a fritted procedure, resulting in a stained glass window effect. At night, the building is illuminated from the inside, becoming a monument to the farm. The Glass Farm is intentionally designed out of scale and is 1.6 times larger than a real farm, symbolizing the village growing into a town. The building is designed to evoke a sense of nostalgia and remembrance, with a table and swing next to the building, creating a scaled-up farmyard. The Glass Farm was realized for RemBrand developers, a combination of Van Den Brand Real Estate and Remmers Construction Group, together with Hooijen Engineers, IOC Ridderkerk for installations, Brakel Atmos for the facade, and AGC for the print. An exhibition about Context and Authenticity opened in the local Museum Jan Heestershuis to coincide with the completion of the building, and a book exploring the development of the Glass Farm will be published later this year by NAi Publishers.

Photo credit: Persbureau van Eijndhoven.