Full name: Tran Hoang Minh

Student ID: 2030888

Assigned building: Bijenkorf by Gio Ponti

With all due respect to Gio Ponti as an architect, Bijenkorf, from my perspective, is a
deterioration to the overall sociable quality of the context. It appears to be out of place as a
consequence of lack of concern about its surroundings, exacerbated by the overexpression of
the exteriors, while unable to provide any relation between the inside and outside.

If you look at the building from the square, it appears alienated from the frequent activities
there. While other buildings either become entirely transparent (Piazza building) or possess a
sense of nostalgia with alluringly transparent shopping windows, which stimulate social
encounters and enrich the vibrancy of the square, Bijenkorf, on the other hand, stands out as
being insular and disrespectful with its surroundings.
Indeed, the building gives an impression of being an enormous inert mass, resulting from the
form being simplified to a state of being monotonous, and the decorative solid facade that is
obsessed with trivial detail. Spangaro wrote in his articles, “Gio Ponti will be remembered for
his attention to surface and urge towards simplicity in relation of structure to form.” Yet, in
the case of Bijenkorf, they should be remembered as a false attempt. The form of the building
is literally a box. The only relation between the inside and outside of the building is the low-
height windows on the ground floor, which are made obscure by the display of merchandise.
Meanwhile, the upper floors are surrounded by solid walls, leaving no interaction with the
public. Once you get inside the building, your awareness of the outside will be circumscribed
by completely enclosed spaces, aggravated by the excessive use of artificial lighting and the
overabundance of displays.

Figure 1. The façade extended up to the third floor is only for Figure 2. The façade looks flat and
the expression of the building does not have any see-through qual-
ity

Nevertheless, the most extreme expression of excessiveness reflects on the facade. The
entirely enormous facade is covered with tiny green glazed ceramic bricks put together in
different patterns. However, the result is still a tedious, flat facade having no interesting
visual effect. It is even worse when you realize that one-third of the facade does not have any
practical function (Figure 1 & 2), instead, it only acts as a canvas for unnecessary
ornamentation of the exorbitant material, or perhaps, makes the building greater to exemplify
for the grandeur that the actual structure is unable to. Indeed, what Bijenkorf exemplified is
neither grandeur nor luxury but extravagance and arrogance, therefore, building up an
antipathy toward the building.

In conclusion, Bijenkorf, in terms of its appearance and relation with its surroundings, leaves
an impression of being flamboyant and excessive, rather than an attempt to be in harmony,
thus, becoming isolated from the context.

References:

Spangaro, C. (2020) Gio Ponti (1891-1979), Architectural Review. Available at: https://www.architectural-
review.com/essays/reputations/gio-ponti-1891-1979 (Accessed: 19 December 2023).

List of figures:
Figure 1.
De Bijenkorf in Eindhoven 1969 Van Acrhitect Gio Ponti (no date) Stichting Cultureel Erfgoed de Bijenkorf De
architectuur. Available at: https://www.cultureelerfgoeddebijenkorf.nl/architectuur/eindhoven
(Accessed: 19 December 2023).
Figure 2.
Self-taken image. Taken: 15 December 2023