REMU

REMU in Amersfoort, Netherlands by UNStudio, 1994

Basically a sealed container, REMU is a substation located in Amersfoort, designed by Van Berkel & Bos in 1994. The building is indicative of both the firm's design sensibilities and the Dutch attitude towards architects, much different that in the United States, where a substation is treated economically and without design concern. Ben Van Berkel, along with art critic Caroline Bos is part of a group of Dutch architects (see also Wiel Arets and MVRDV) that balance theory, practice, and an involvement in architectural education. This well-balanced approach to architecture, coupled with affection for architects in Holland (a trait shared by much of Europe), helps to create unique buildings like REMU.

Consisting of two interlocking volumes, the substation's design is governed by its use (a container for three electrical transformers) and its site (a highly visible location). The two volumes are clad in different materials: one a basalt lava and the other aluminum. The two materials help to differentiate the volumes but also present a situation of opposites: light/dark, horizontal/vertical, insulative/conductive. The architects rationalize the use of the volumes as a reference to the invisible transformation process of electrical currents. The non-orthogonal composition points ahead to the eventual reliance upon computers, both for design and execution.

The physical forces of architecture are intensive complex junctions where public, political dimensions cross with structural techniques, morphological readings of a location and urbanist considerations.   -Ben Van Berkel and Caroline Bos

Almost whole, the volumes are broken where necessary for exhaust, in the form of large cubical louvers projecting from the exterior surfaces, and entrance/egress. The meeting of the cladding with the openings, and the cladding itself, illustrates the architect's strong sense of detailing. Both the lava and aluminum panels are subdivided by wooden rails set in steel, while the opening s are also timber clad. These separations help to give the facade a depth and a rhythm, in addition to the rhythm of the individual panels, while also unifying the two volumes.

It is a shame that the attention give to utilitarian structures in Holland and other European countries has not spread to other continents, especially the United States. Although due to a different way of living and thinking, the knowledge of the importance of the built environment is a useful idea that can be carried into other cultures. Combining a sensual use of forms and an intricate sense of detailing, the firm of Van Berkel & Bos has taken advantage of their situation to create such structures (as well as a recently completed bridge) that has carried over into residential and office design. But it is a simple substation that the potential of their ideas and abilities is most clear.