From overlooked structure to funky bakery. A low-cost, high-impact intervention.
Building 510 was long considered the most modest (and arguably ugliest) structure within the 43-hectare Hembrug site. Originally built as a small electricity distribution substation, the building lacked both refinement and a clear future. Demolition seemed inevitable. Buro Loof proposed an alternative: not to erase the building, but to radically reinterpret it through a minimal yet strategic intervention.
The transformation is guided by a simple principle: achieving maximum spatial and experiential impact with minimal means. Rather than altering the structure extensively, the design focuses on adding a new layer, one that allows the building to merge with its surroundings and become part of the landscape.
Flowering climbing plants envelop the façade, turning the once bland exterior into a living skin. The building is no longer perceived as an isolated object in the landscape, but as an extension of it. Over time, the vegetation continues to grow, soften, and transform the appearance of the structure, making it seasonally dynamic and rooted in its context. This strategy extends onto the roof, which is transformed into a planted surface of grasses, flowers, and shrubs. From a distance, the building reads less as architecture and more as a subtle elevation within the landscape. A thin mirrored fascia wraps around the roof edge, subtly reflecting the greenery below. This reflective layer visually dissolves the roofline and amplifies the presence of the vegetation, allowing the building to blend even further into its surroundings.
Inside, the intervention remains deliberately restrained. The existing prefabricated concrete interior is left exposed, maintaining the raw character of the original structure. Existing roof openings are repurposed as skylights, bringing daylight deep into the compact space. The interior is simple and highly functional, accommodating a small bakery. Large glass openings, inserted where former doors and ventilation grilles once were, allowing the interior to fully open up towards the landscape.
The building’s new identity lies in contrast. Set against the monumental industrial structures of the Hembrugterrein, this small intervention operates as a soft, green counterpoint. Its idiosyncratic, almost sculptural character aligns naturally with the future development of the ZAMU art museum nearby, where art, landscape, and architecture come together. In this context, the bakery blurs the line between building and artwork.
Bakery 510
Category
Hospitality
Location
Zaandam
55m²
Size
2026
Year
2015 Shortlist Gulden Feniks
Recognitions
