Original name
Radio Kootwijk
Original use
Infrastructure / radio station
Current use
Infrastructure / radio station
Architects
Julius Maria Luthmann
Concrete by reinforcement
Concrete is a relatively brittle material that is strong in compression but less so in tension.
To increase its overall strength, steel rods, wires, mesh or cables may be embedded in concrete before it sets. This reinforcement, often known as rebar, resists tensile forces. By forming a strong bond, the two materials are able to resist a variety of applied forces, effectively acting as a single structural element .
Construction method
In this case, the concrete can be made by mixing the components directly on site, or it may be transported from a production plant in concrete-mixer trucks.
This method has the disadvantage of leaving the concrete exposed to the elements while it is setting. Whereas, with other methods, the environmental conditions can be controlled during setting, providing greater control over the outcome, with cast-in-place concrete a series of tests and protocols are necessary to verify its final strength.
Architectural concrete
- textured walls
- wooden formwork finish
- stamped concrete
- exposed aggregate concrete, colored concrete, etc.
Structural types
Beams are the horizontal load-bearing elements of the frame. Columns are the vertical elements of the frame and act as the building’s primary load-bearing element. They transmit the beam loads down to the foundations.
A series of arches are situated parallel to one another at a distance that allows for covering them with smaller secondary structures such as beams or plates. This type of structure also calls for support elements perpendicular to the arches to avoid the “domino” effect .
State of Conservation
Description
A building of considerable size, monumental in its architecture, stands alone in the middle of the landscape of the Dutch interior, with no populated areas nearby. This abnormal situation starts to make sense once the building’s function is revealed: it once housed a low frequency radio telecommunications system, which let the Dutch metropolis maintain contact with its colonies in what is now Indonesia (the Dutch East Indies). Over time, other transoceanic communication systems, such as the telegraph, situated their centre of operations in this infrastructure, central to Dutch history for much of the last century.
Since it was a typology without an architectural tradition behind it, there were no clear references that suggested an architectural form. The result was a building with a configuration that resembles a Christian temple: a tall tower along the axis of symmetry, where the entrance is located, adjacent to a large nave built using diaphragmatic concrete arches, topped by a window open onto the landscape.
The exterior, made entirely of exposed concrete, has a compact character, lightened only by vertical strips of long narrow windows that refer, once again, to religious architecture. This aspect is tempered by decorative shapes and details in the Art Deco style, which lend an interest to the volumes that stretches beyond that of a purely functional building dedicated to infrastructures. A fenced garden, also Art Deco in its design, provides a welcoming transition space between the natural landscape and the building.
Emerging satellite telecommunication technologies ultimately left the installations without a function in 1980. Nevertheless, the building, which is considered one of the most beautiful Dutch buildings from the early 20th century, is still in top condition, although its isolated location runs counter to any intensive and continuous alternative uses.
Netherlands
Radioweg 1
Gelderland 7348 BG Apeldoorn
Commission
1918
Completion
1922