Considering that more than a third of Dutch people use a bike as their main mode of transportation every day, it’s no surprise that the world’s largest bicycle garage is located in Utrecht. Recently completed by the firm Ector Hoogstad Architecten, the cavernous three-story bike parking facility is tucked beneath Utrecht Central Station, which is currently in the midst of a major makeover that aims to make this part of the city more sustainable, walkable and vibrant.

While various “modernizations” in the 60s and 70s made the area around Utrecht Central Station more car-friendly, the ongoing project to update the station is doing the opposite. The growing popularity of e-bikes and rising consciousness about the climate crisis are contributing to more bike riders than ever in the Netherlands, which will require new and modified public transport hubs with plenty of amenities for cyclists.

A modernist building that once connected the railway station to the adjacent shopping mall has been dismantled, allowing for a new public pedestrian street and square to be inserted along with the new bike garage, say the architects.

“The three storey bicycle parking is situated underneath the square. It has been designed with three aims in mind:  convenience, speed and safety. In order to achieve this in a facility of this scale cyclists are enabled to pedal all the way up to their parking slot. The parking lanes branch off the cycle paths, to ensure that users do not get in the way of cyclists passing through the system.”

“Room for mounting and dismounting is left alongside the cycling lanes. Modestly sloping ramps connect the parking areas on different levels The walls are colour-coded to indicate the routing, and electronic  signals indicate the position of free parking slots. Additional facilities such as a cycle repair shop, a cycle rental outlet and several floor managers meet users’ every need.”

“Stairwells and tunnels create direct connections to the elevated square, the main terminal building and the platforms. Ensuring good orientation and plenty of daylight, the stairwells are located inside atria covered by glass roofs. Large windows in the outer walls allow users views toward the platforms and the bus terminal.”

Featuring generous proportions and raw surfaces made of concrete, steel and wood, the garage feels clean and modern, with just as much care and attention given to it as you’d see in a high-profile parking garage for cars in the United States, like Miami’s 1111 Lincoln Road by Herzog de Meuron.

Check out more photos at EctorHoogstad.com.

Classical meets modern in a surreal mashup splashed all over the walls of the Thomas cafe in the Netherlands, the work of a duo of artists known as Studio Giftig. Highly in demand for their colorful, oversized works of art, Niels van Swaemen and Káspar van Leek were invited to transform the kind of space most muralists only dream of working in, wrapping their imagery around baroque molding and up onto the ceiling.

Entitled “A Surreal Perception,” the monumental piece pairs black and white portraits of stone statues with floating whales, neon sunglasses, crowned monkeys riding cranes and more, all set on a pale pink backdrop. Much of the work was completed using spray cans, which helped them get into the nooks and crannies of the molding.

The result is a bar, restaurant and event space that’s truly unforgettable. You can check out more images of these vivid interiors at the Thomas’ Facebook page, and follow Studio Giftig’s latest works on Instagram.

A series of elaborately curved houses designed for Eindhoven will rest like large boulders in the Dutch landscape, illustrating the complex forms made possible by new and evolving 3D-printing technologies.

The first single-story house will be around 1,000 square feet and allow for process refinements for the multi-story units to follow – research and innovation are part of the mandate of the Eindhoven University of Technology and other project partners.

The goal, in part, is to optimize for quality, comfort and cost, with each phase building on the previous iteration, a marriage of experimentation and architectural creation.

Construction will begin this year and the first unit should be occupiable sometime next year. While the ideas are bigger than creating a single small neighborhood of homes, having them be functional in the end is also a key aim of the project.

Modular living units in a range of sizes can be stacked, spun and cantilevered over each other to create unique custom dwellings with views in every direction. The Tetris House makes it possible for homeowners to design their homes to their own specifications, from the size of each room to the orientation of the windows, and enables developers to create apartment complexes that can be easily expanded or reduced in size.

Dutch design studio Universe Architecture offers three basic sizes of steel units that can be enhanced with balconies, shutters, glazing and rooftop terraces. Plug three or more units together in pretty much any configuration you can think of, orient some of them to face the sun or your desired view, and stick on some pop-up decks with glass railings to take it all in.

The company teamed up with interior design firm i29 to create minimalist, compact and efficient interiors that can adapt to all the different possibilities in each building’s individual floorpan, adding interior walls, staircases, fireplaces and other basic elements. The prototype will soon be completed in the Netherlands, with plans to expand availability to other countries in the future.

A massive mixed use project in Rotterdam by MVRDV, this newly-opened building wraps vertically around an open central space but also features one of the largest works of art in the Netherlands: an incredible digital display spanning over 100,000 square feet of the interior surface area.

The closed-but-open solution is a response to new Dutch legislation requiring produce markets to be enclosed, balanced with a desire to keep an open-air feeling to the space.  The resulting design with its vibrantly-colored displays makes the place seem inviting from the outside, drawing people in to visit the nearly 100 shopping stalls within. The complex is expected to have over 5 million annual visitors.

Glazed on two sides with transparent glass, apartments wraps the others sides and top of the structure, giving over 200 residents views down into the market below as well as balconies toward the outside world on the exterior skin of the structure. The suspended glass panels are held in tension by thin wires, making the supports as invisible as possible while providing protection against strong winter winds.

From the firm’s press release: “The large mural which covers the vaulted interior, ‘Cornucopia’ by artists Arno Coenen and Iris Roskam has a total surface of 11.000 m² and shows oversized images of market produce which can be bought at the market, as well as flowers and insects referencing the work of Dutch still life masters from the 17th century. In order to achieve the required sharpness, the image was rendered by Pixar software. It was printed onto perforated aluminium panels, then attached to acoustic panels for noise control. The print resolution of the art work is comparable to a glossy magazine.”

More about the layout: “Markthal comprises 96 fresh food stalls and shop units, ranging from Rotterdam based businesses and market vendors to established local heroes. They will offer a diverse range of products: from fresh fish to game, from cappuccino to cheese, from Chinese to Dutch, from ice cream to local produce, from bargains to exclusive slow food. The ground and first floor accommodate 20 retail units, restaurants and cafés. All shops are food-related and include a crockery- and a wine shop. A supermarket is located on the 1st underground level allowing the shoppers to complete their shopping under one roof.”