UNStudio shapes The Looking Glass with bricks, glass, and flowing curves

The Looking Glass has completed by the UNStudio, the renovation of the facade of PC Hooftstraat 138 in Amsterdam. P.C. Hooftstraat is one of the most elegant shopping streets in Europe, home to only leading international and Dutch designers, flagship stores and boutiques. Its most striking feature is the three curved glass panels that flow down from the upper floors, mimicking the billowing of transparent cloth.

Situated in the heart of the Museum Quarter, between Museumplein and the Vondelpark, shops on the P.C. Hooftstraat are a display of Dutch design, creative heritage and elegance. Taking cues from nearby museums for framing Dutch art, UNStudio’s design for The Looking Glass sets the stage for a unique and distinctive flagship store by reimagining the display of clothes. 

The facade of P.C. Hooftstraat 138 is a celebration of textiles, both in form and function; three curved glass panels flow down from the upper floors in a design that mimics billowing transparent cloth. This play with glass creates opening spaces on a pedestrian eye-level that unveil the latest designs.

In a fluid gesture, fashion and architecture come together to represent and celebrate the craftsmanship and geometry of high-end, tailored clothing, creating harmony between aesthetics and function. All this, while keeping true to the original design of the three-windowed vertical division of an Amsterdam town house.

While UNStudio has designed the facade, the tenant will be responsible for the interior fit out of the store.

Mastering Crafts with The Looking Glass

Two main features connect the ground and the first floors: glass boxes surrounded by brickwork. The three structural glass ‘box elements’ are each assembled in the factory and mounted on site. Large laminated annealed low iron glass panels, both curved and straight, are bonded with structural silicone to the adjacent glass panels with stainless steel edge profiles in between, thus forming a glass box. Each glass box is then bonded to a hidden steel frame for protection and shipping purposes, before being installed as a single unit on site.

After installation, a rigid insulation layer is added on top of a GRC panel. Brick slips are then glued on to the insulation layer. Between the slips on the ground floor level, a metal strip is introduced to create slight differentiation from the rest of the brickwork and to meet urban requirements.

8mm wide silicon seams between the polished stainless steel edge profiles and the glass panels allow for any tolerances in the curved glass that might occur during the manufacturing process, while the steel profile protects the glass edges from damage and absorbs the transformation in geometries.

Project Details

Client: Warenar Real Estate – Warenar developed and owns Crystal House, the Hermès Boutique
Location: PC Hooftstraat 138, Amsterdam
Building surface: Retail, ca. 340 m², Residential 130 m²
Programme: Retail façade, Residential
Status: Completed (2017-2019)
Photography: © Eva Bloem

The project description is provided by UNStudio.

About the UNStudio:

A full-service architecture design network in seven locations.

UNStudio, founded in 1988 by Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos, is an international network specialising in architecture, interior architecture, product design, urban development and infrastructural projects. With six full-service international offices in Amsterdam, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Frankfurt, Dubai, Melbourne and Austin and over 300 employees from 27 countries, their streamlined structure enables them to spend less time organising and more time designing and collaborating with their clients.

For more information about UNStudio and their works, watch the episode PATALKS 70 on our YouTube channel!

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