Minimalist sliding doors provide impressive transparency

The design of the Ode Appartments and the adjoining Booking.com headquarters on the Oosterdokseiland in Amsterdam is characterized by maximum transparency. For this reason, an appeal was made to Solarlux, which not only generates impressive transparency with its cero III sliding doors, but also complies with the high wind and watertightness requirements. The iconic building was designed by Ben van Berkel of UNStudio and the apartments offer a unique view of the city.

The cero III system is a highly insulated, room-high sliding window. "It is our flagship. The system is versatile and despite its minimalist styles of 34 mm it is even suitable for passive building," says Ivar Homma, Managing Director of Solarlux Netherlands. Cero III is a so-called 3-track system. "That makes the sliding door incredibly versatile. The moving part can slide from left to right or just from right to left. It is also possible to work with fixed elements or with only moving parts. That flexible character came in handy here. No facade is the same. That is also our expertise: we are very strong in customization and distinct forms."

300 cero wings

Solarlux delivered and assembled approximately 300 wings of type cero III for the 41 apartments in the residential building. "Given the building's location on the Amsterdam IJ, high wind and watertightness requirements were demanded," says Homma. "In the preliminary phase, we therefore built a mock-up of a facade section with cero façade at full size in our factory in Germany and tested it extensively together with our client Sorba. And with success. It gave sufficient confidence to go into execution in this way. The transparent parapet is integrated into the facade and thus forms an aesthetic whole." Speaking of execution, at the time it was one of the largest construction projects in the Netherlands with an awful lot of disciplines together, Homma knows. "We assembled the approximately 300 wings in just under nine months and were able to bring the project to a successful conclusion in an excellent collaboration with Sorba. As one of the most prestigious buildings in the Netherlands, this is another great reference for us. We are immensely proud that we can and do such beautiful projects."

While the cero III is Solarlux's flagship product, its successor is already in the works. "We are now developing the cero IV in the same line, but going to a 2 mm view with a structural glazing effect. That will really be a revolution in the world of minimalist sliding doors," Homma reveals in conclusion.