Studio Job design Iconic facades

Product design

To enliven the facades of a new complex of flats in Amsterdam, Studio Job have designed over 50 compositions of ornamental reliefs cast in concrete.

By Editor Design.nl / 01-10-2009

The lucky residents who live in the new 'Jatopa' complex of flats in Slotervaart, Amsterdam own their very own piece of Studio Job design probably without even knowing it.

For the facades of five new apartment blocks in this area of Amsterdam south, Studio Job have designed and produced 50 ornamental reliefs - Iconic Facades - cast in concrete tableaus. The intricate compositions of the tableaus follow in the line of previous compositions including Bavaria, Industry, Perished and the recent Gospel. The tableaus cover up to 800 m2.

"For this project we have chosen for an universal iconography that appeals to the multicultural background of this specific block," explains Nynke Tynagel and Job Smeets. "In floral ornaments you can see petrified flower boxes while the animal tableaus can make you think of The Ark of Noah. Other ornaments picture machines, clockworks and sports, referring to the imagery of socialism. Sometimes the ornaments are very classical and strict, in other cases it seems as if everything has been thrown on a chaotic heap".

Iconic Facades 2009
Design: Studio Job
Commission: Far West / urban district Slotervaart Amsterdam
Consultancy: Kunst en Bedrijf
Architect: Köther Salman Koedijk Architecten

Photography: Jannes Linders