October 2019 - The Markthal, a building designed by MVRDV, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, fosters a sustainable combination of food, leisure, living and parking. All functions are integrated to celebrate and enhance their synergetic possibilities. A secure, covered square is nestled beneath a 40-meter-tall arch, conceived as an entirely new take on a typical market square and its surrounding buildings.
The market hall is enlivened by a large mural covering the vaulted interior. “Cornucopia,” by artists Arno Coenen and Iris Roskam, spans more than 11,000 square meters, with a resolution comparable to that found in a glossy magazine. In order to achieve this sharpness, the image was rendered by Pixar software and printed onto perforated aluminum panels.
Each of the 4,500 aluminum panels—measuring 152 cm by 152 cm and 2 mm-thick—are perforated in order to absorb noise from the hall. This helps to create a pleasant acoustic profile within the hall.
Photos: Ossip van Duivenbode
