The cluster, uniting local cultural institutions, will be located in the center of Zaandam, the main city of the Zanstad community. Its center has been built since 2001 according to the plans of the postmodern architect Sjoerd Soeters in the spirit of local traditions: the banks of the Zan River are characterized by houses with rich green wooden facades, carvings and complex silhouettes.
In this spirit, the town hall and station complex and the well-known Inntel hotel have already been erected there: their projects are based on enlarged and / or multiplied "Zansk houses". Next to them will be the building of the Zanstad Cultural Cluster of MVRDV Architects, who also play according to the rules set by Souters. But, unlike neighboring structures, their construction uses only silhouettes of houses, more precisely, niches of this shape.
Each of the institutions located in the building will be marked with a “Zan house” recess of its own color and size. In the very center of its rectangular volume there will be a green “Zanskaya living room”, also with the silhouette of a traditional house. This type of atrium will connect different functional areas and will be available to all citizens, from visitors to cultural institutions to shopping in the city center, attracted by the cafes located in the cluster building.
In addition, the architects turned the Zan house inside out: the facades of the cluster will resemble wallpaper, and the cladding of green painted wood will dominate in its interiors.
The future "inhabitants" of the cluster include a library, film, performing and visual arts, pop music, design centers, a music school and a local radio station. The 500-seat Pop Concert Hall, planned on the ground floor, could be used for many other purposes - as well as the “city living room”. The building includes cinemas, music and dance studios, creative laboratories, workshops, etc.
The building will be placed in the middle of a podium square, under which a parking lot for bicycles will be arranged - again, with an entrance in the shape of a "Zan house" silhouette.
