Amsterdam
concrete architectural associates

Through transparent, luminous materials and allusions to leafy forests, Concrete evokes serenity at De Lairesse Apotheek in Amsterdam

	Click images to view larger
	Rob Wagemans
	Photo courtesy architects
	Click here to see the people & products

Everything about De Lairesse Apotheek makes you want to heave a sigh of relief. Relax, the interior seems to say, all will be well. The generous entry, the serene hues of green, the tree trunk that seems to hold up the counter, and the glimpses into an herb garden alongside the building suggest leafy shadows, tranquility, and transparency.

For this apothecary specializing in natural and homeopathic medicine, pharmacist Marjan Terpstra took over the 1,830-square-foot ground floor of a stolid 1920s brick building on Amsterdam’s De Lairesse Street, a tree-lined, two-lane artery. In transforming the interior from a bank office, she shunned a clinical or chemical sensibility, wanting to convey instead a sense of harmony between the natural and the synthetic.

Mutual acquaintances brought Terpstra in contact with Rob Wagemans of the Amsterdam design firm Concrete, known for its trendy bars and restaurants, as well as commercial spaces and offices, mostly in the Netherlands.

Inside the main space, an arced, black-leather waiting bench faces a semicircular, concrete-epoxy counter that seems to hang from a tree trunk in the middle of the room. Hollowed out, the trunk actually sheathes a structural steel column. A green photographic print of gingko leaves beneath a protective layer of transparent epoxy covers the floor.

Medicinal products are arranged in 522 transparent drawers in floor-to-ceiling cases that curve to form segments of a circle. Fronted in green Plexiglas, the drawers glow with green backlighting—a signature technique in Concrete’s bars and nightclubs. Another curved, glass cabinet screens the work area behind it and holds orders awaiting pick-up.  Next to the main space, a small side room provides a table with two chairs where clients can sit and read about natural and homeopathic treatments or hold private consultations with the pharmacist.

Want the full story? Read the entire article in our September 2004 issue.
Subscribe to Architectural Record in print, or get Architectural Record digitally

Read more about the people and products behind this project.