A city on piles
The Style Outlets Amsterdam has risen in SugarCity, the site of the former sugar factory in Halfweg. Since 2000, this site between Haarlem and Amsterdam has been transforming into a multifunctional urban area. The outlet centre is built on the roof of a two-storey car park. On the outside, the complex looks like an industrial city. The new city is, very Dutch, built on piles, with the difference that here the piles are visible and literally stand in the water. They have been used as an architectural means to hide the built car park under the plan from view.
Industry and sustainability
The large scale of the project has been reduced to a more human scale by dividing the façade into several buildings. The scale of these buildings matches SugarCity's existing historic buildings. The different buildings refer, in an almost archetypal way, to industry and sustainability.
In the northwest corner of the plan, prominently visible from the N200, a tall industrial building draws attention. It is a factory with a chimney like a child's drawing. With the outlet centre's logo on top of the chimney, the iconic image is complete. This combined industrial image is also used for the three entrances for visitors. The entrance building along the Ringvaart canal is the main entrance leading directly to the heart of the outlet centre, the central square.
Brick and clean white frames
Brick establishes a connection with the industrial monuments on the site. The buildings become quirky and timeless through the clean white frames, which form the contour lines of typical industrial buildings. The interior of the outlet centre continues this contemporary industrial image. Here, rough, industrial brick is once again combined with clean white frames and large shop fronts in aluminium. The signing, too, matches the industrial character of the plan. Appealing brands have been given a place on the tops of the roofs and in the fronts of the new warehouses.
