Meerstad is a planned urban development located seven kilometres from the city of Groningen in the northern Netherlands. With the locality’s gradual growth, Meerstad has no defined centre. De Zwarte Hond was commissioned by real estate developer MWPO to design SuperHub Meerstad, an impressive, multifunctional, and sustainable facility that will grow and adapt with the community.

Meerstad is known for its open green spaces, including Park Meerstad, the largest public land art project in the Netherlands, and the recreational Woldmeer Lake. Initial plans for Meerstad, a sustainable and liveable community project, were being developed around 2005. Over the coming decades, approximately 5,000 new homes will be built. It is expected that De Zwarte Hond’s eye-catching SuperHub Meerstad will play a central community role in the area’s growth.

Cathedral-like structure built with CLT

SuperHub Meerstad is an expansive supermarket made entirely from wood and glass. This sustainable building represents a reinvigorated circular version of the traditional market hall space. The SuperHub’s cathedral-like appearance is a result of its supporting structure, which consists of cross-shaped cross-laminated timber (CLT) columns and beams. The large span, nine-metre ceiling height creates an exceptionally bright space that offers flexibility and the potential for future adaptations.

The wooden roof has an overhang of 5.4 meters. This substantial canopy shields the building from solar radiation and embraces the surrounding environment. In addition, De Zwarte Hond cleverly utilised cross forms that provide the building with stability, removing the need for additional wind bracing infrastructure. 

Ecological and sustainable

SuperHub’s roof is reserved for solar panels and plants that support biodiversity, attracting bees and insects.

Integrated building technologies include an air treatment system and an underground thermal energy storage system that guarantee an optimal and energy-efficient indoor climate.

The building is designed to absorb and withstand the vibrations of Groningen earthquakes (due primarily to natural gas extraction from the Groningen gas field).

Built for community and to last

SuperHub’s flexible design provides the Meerstad area with a supermarket and cafe, as well as a community meeting place. De Zwarte Hond aimed to create a pleasant and social shopping experience for residents, offering an alternative to the increasing popularity of express delivery services. SuperHub’s impressive spatial qualities are essential to fulfilling the building’s role as an inviting and multifunctional community centre. Accordingly, the supermarket is contributing to the social sustainability of Meerstad.

Built to last, SuperHub Meerstad’s design offers the potential for future reuse. De Zwarte Hond created a building that balances commercial, social, and environmental needs. Its functionality can be modified as the community’s requirements change. For instance, the building could house a community centre, a school, or even homes.

Team:
Architects: De Zwarte Hond
Collaborators: MWPO, Brands Bouw B.V., Maripaan Groep, Jumbo Supermarkten, Bureau Meerstad, Pieters Bouwtechniek, DGMR 
Photographers: Ronald Tilleman, Ronald Zijlstra

The new Groningen district of Meerstad is one cathedral richer. Only it is not a church but a multifunctional, self-sufficient, circular meeting place: SuberHub Meerstad. Constructed from wood, steel and glass, the building is a cross between a classic market hall and a modern shopping centre. For the enormous straight and curved glazing, which also had to be insulating and sun-resistant, Alraf Aluminum Ramenfabriek enlisted the expertise of Vandaglas. Everyone, from client to glazier, is proud of the collaboration and the result.

At the beginning of autumn 2021, contractor Brands Bouw started construction of the SuperHub in the Groningen new housing estate Groenewei. The assignment came from real estate developer MWPO and the design from the Groningen architectural firm De Zwarte Hond. In a year and a half, a special and challenging construction project was realized. The enormous windows in the design, combined with the requirements from the point of view of social sustainability and climate objectives, required specialized custom work.

From Alraf to today's glass

The client and contractor called on the Ter Apel window factory Alraf for the many frames that the building has. Alraf is best known as an expert in the field of aluminum window frames, but also has all the knowledge and expertise to supply the steel window constructions for the SuperHub. A special combination of requirements was set for the glazing in it: sun protection but not tinted, optimum insulating values ​​and, for all corners of the building, curved glass. Because of this last criterion, Leon Dol, a buyer at Alraf, called Gert Schrik from vandaglas. The collaboration between the two companies has been going on for more than 10 years and dates back to the time when Vandaglas was still known as Glassolutions B.V.

International specialist in curved glass

With branches and factories in England, Austria, Germany and the Netherlands, the Vandaglas group is an expert European player for special glazing. We asked Gert Schrik, the project manager at Vandaglas, why they were specifically asked for the SuperHub glazing: “The German Vandaglas factory specializes in both aesthetic curved glass and special coatings. We were able to produce and deliver the entire window section for the SuperHub from Berlin. It is a specialty in which we are at the forefront in Europe.” Based on the specs for the SuperHub, Vandaglas advised and supplied TriplePerform XTR70/33 triple glazing for the straight sections and double glazing for the curved windows of IsoPerform XTR70/33. Both types of glass have an identical highly selective solar control coating that appears completely transparent or neutral to the eye.

The challenge: measure and fit

Dimensioning for insulating glass, especially if it is curved, always keeps small margins. When installing the supplied windows, it is equally exciting whether what was written on paper also works out well in practice. Certainly with regard to the glazing for the SuperHub, which had a slightly longer delivery time due to the specialisms used. If a window pane had not fitted somewhere, this could have seriously delayed the project. But, to the great pride and satisfaction of all involved, there was no hiccup. Leon Dol: “The straight and curved windows arrived at the construction site undamaged and one by one all fitted nicely into the steel frames, which in turn fell seamlessly into the wooden trusses from which the SuperHub was built. It is not only a special project in terms of design, but also in terms of implementation.”

Ready for the future

The intention was for SuperHub Meerstad to fulfill a number of basic functions and at the same time to be a meeting place, a visible central social point in the new district. The building, which now houses a supermarket, among other things, also had to be able to move along with changing destinations in the future, if developments in the neighborhood demand it. All these conditions have been met and, moreover, the entire building can be dismantled and rebuilt elsewhere or the materials reused. In practice, it is a cast-iron example of what good teamwork can achieve. And in the field of glass, the Vandaglas group has ensured that light, indoor climate, insulation and design coincide seamlessly in the SuperHub. Are you in Groningen? Go see it, it's worth it!

-www.vandaglas.com- 

text: Roel van Gils

The SuperHub in Meerstad is a modern complex constructed with timber frame architecture. It is a multifunctional building that can be repurposed in the future. The design features a striking glass facade, allowing visitors to maintain a connection with the surrounding environment.

However, a glass facade can lead to overheating or unwanted sunlight shining directly on visitors. To address this, Storax was commissioned to equip the facade with Structural Aluminium Louvered Sunshades. These Icarus louvers follow the shape of the building, adding an extra dimension to the design.