The Van Been brewery was designed to offer fluidity in its indoor-outdoor space relationship, based on the idea that the consumption area, sidewalk and open spaces could be merged into a single environment, adding value to the comercial spot and somehow adding value to the neighborhood. For that, we opted for the metallic structure as a structural system, which allowed us to work with an open space on the front façade, creating a pillarless space close to the building's entrance, with full circulation between the interior and the external areas.
The set of glass frames was designed to reinforce this concept, exploring the openings on the ground floor. A continuous side door and two large front folding doors remain open during the house's operation, opening the cold room and lounge area to the external and access areas.
We worked with the metallic structure in this building, using two regular modules of 6.00 by 4.50 meters and a third frontal module of 3.70 by 4.50 meters. Thus, we seek to bring aesthetic lightness to the set, in addition to adding rationality and speed to the construction process, an important factor when dealing with a commercial work, with normally tight deadlines for completion. The adoption of this structural system also helped to reinforce an aesthetic concept more focused on the industrial sector, something desirable when dealing with a craft brewery with its own production.
In order to make the work more agile and economical, we agreed with the client on a very streamlined use program, grouping the beer taps, cold room, table space, bathrooms, bar and a small storage room on the ground floor. The upper floor is occupied by an open hall, with infrastructure ready to house a craft beer production space in the future (which is currently made in another location).
Regarding the external finishes, we used a mixture of facing bricks on the ground floor, something that refers to traditional Dutch architecture, the land of origin of the owner family and which gives the brewery its name. On the other hand, the upper floor was entirely covered with cementitious plates, modulated following the structure's intervals, and which once again bring the industrial aesthetics to the fore.