We already talked about it 3 years ago for its opening but we do not resist to show you this magnificient Dutch building once again on the occasion of Hermes’s move-in. An impressive realisation of solid glass bricks for an Hooftstaat facade (a busy commercial road in Amsterdam). Designed by the Dutch architecture office MVRDV, this facade carefully reproduces the traditional aesthetic of a clay brick building but with glass brick on the first two floors. This glass then fades slowly away to let the opaque bricks take its place. Though this project was ambitious as glass bricks are difficult to make, hard to work and very demanding regarding joints, the result is breathbreaking. So very advanced processes (specific moulds, revolutionnary transparent UV bonding) for a realisation that plays with the traditional architectural codes of this beautiful city of Amsterdam.

More information about the Crystal Houses on the MVRDV website.