When it comes to connecting the covered parking area of a hospital to the building itself, it is of utmost importance that people circulating around it feel safe and comfortable in relation to their day-to-day comings and goings.
The unique Enschede tunnel in the Netherlands had the main purpose of serving as an underground link between the Van Heek garage and the Medish Spectrum Twente (MST) hospital through which workers, patients and visitors circulated. For this reason, this ambitious architectural project should have full functionality and accessibility, as well as having the best materials and building systems to ensure further safety and reliability.
The KRION® Solid Surface compact mineral and the Butech building systems represented a perfect combination for achieving this project with specific characteristics. Atelier Pro, the architectural studio responsible for this project design, opted for the K-Fix and K-btolt systems from Butech, in combination with the KRION® 1100 Snow White and KRION® 4102 Extreme Light versions of the acrylic stone for designing interior structures in “L”. These were designed to cover the tunnel on the inside, giving shelter to the passageway, both pedestrian and mechanical.
In addition to its ultra-resistant and ultra-hygienic properties, the KRION® Solid Surface stands for the perfect material that is integrated into this project thanks to its backlight. Atelier Pro thought about a nice contrast between the robust materials used for walls and the floors, with KRION® backlit by LED tubes changing their colour along the conveyor belt.
This intermittent artificial lighting, in perfect fusion with the natural light entering from the outside, creates a lighting effect which is both nice and unique. A charismatic space, the Enschede tunnel, which serves both as an outstanding and famous link, and one which is capable of exalting the city as well as improving people’s lives.
