GLASS ART FOR ST. NICOLAASLYCEUM
Commission
Construction has begun on the new school building for the
St. Nicolaaslyceum, at the corner of the Beethovenstraat and the Prinses Irenestraat. The building was designed by DP6 architectuurstudio. At the school’s request, the south façade next to the main entrance will include a work of glass art. The St. Nicolaaslyceum asked the Virtual Museum Zuidas (Henk de Vroom, Art and Public Space Zuidas) to draw up a list of possible candidates and to supervise the selection, execution and completion of the artwork. From the twenty-two candidates, the St. Nicolaaslyceum selected four artists to make a sketch design: Henri Jacobs, Germaine Kruip, Anne Semler and Anouk Vogel. At the end of August, the art committee of the St. Nicolaaslyceum and the supervisors of the Zuidas chose the mirror tree by Anouk Vogel. Descriptions of the sketch designs follow below. The construction of the building is scheduled for completion in June 2012.
Henri Jacobs ‘Filter’, a design by Henri Jacobs, takes its inspiration from a quote from the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. The oval raster is a way of organizing and describing the world, without concealing its mystery. Using enamel paint, Jacobs applies silkscreened colour fields on the outer and inner sides of the four-layered glass façade. This produces a subtle spatial effect. On the north façade, he projects a number of colourful secondary shapes created by the light through the filter.
Anne Semler In Anne Semler’s design, a stream of figures and verses fans out over the building. They form a ribbon of ‘wonder and curiosity’ which tells a story of the pleasure of learning. Hares dance, bats and butterflies flutter their wings. Semler creates an ode to the school’s religious roots through two main themes. On the south façade, two boys look at the birth of a star, while on the north façade, a girl holds the moon in her lap.
Anouk Vogel Using mirroring specks, Anouk Vogel draws a monumental tree on the south façade of the St. Nicolaaslyceum. The tree, in this case the apple tree with which Newton proved his theory of gravity, is at once a simple and powerful symbol that fires the imagination of many cultures. The design provides a play of colour and movement. The tree reflects the environment, the weather and, from close by, the students. Not only can they gaze at themselves, they can also peer through the wall at others.
Germaine Kruip The glass façade designed by Germaine Kruip partly consists of vertical strips applied in mirror coating on the window. In the middle, Kruip makes a circle of 3-D strips that slowly turns on its axis. As it turns, the circle passes from black to mirroring to transparent. This not only creates a continually different aspect and view, but also a changing play of light and shadow, whereby the beams of light penetrate deep within the building.
