Maximum transparency, sleek design 

Custom balcony glazing for House on South Rotterdam

On Laan op Zuid in Rotterdam, a multifunctional eye-catcher will be completed this summer: House on South. The building combines sports, hospitality and housing in a special way. The eye-catcher is a residential tower with 104 affordable rental apartments for Synchroon Woonfonds, half of which are intended for residents with vital (social) professions. By giving care personnel, police officers and teachers priority for housing, for example, the neighborhood should improve at an accelerated pace. All apartments exude comfort and luxury. Floor-to-ceiling windows bring in plenty of daylight and enhance the feeling of spaciousness. Moreover, due to a clever layout, almost every apartment has a spacious balcony, for which Mview+ realized custom balcony glazing. Thanks to a sleek design, the view is magnificent. 

Mview+ was approached at an early stage by architect Koen van Velsen to help think about the balcony glazing for Huis op Zuid. "Initially, some sort of glass folding walls were prescribed," explains Waldo Duin, director of Mview+. "But eventually it was decided to close part of the balconies with fixed glass, depending on the noise load. This efficiently blocks out all ambient noise, but still allows residents to enjoy all the benefits of an open balcony on sunny days."

Sleek appearance

Commissioned by contractor Van Roey Nederland BV, Mview+ engineered, produced and assembled the balcony glazing for 112 balconies. "Fully customized and in accordance with the technical requirements and aesthetic wishes," says Duin. "The architect preferred a sleek look for the balconies. To accommodate this, we extruded project-specific profiles. A long, continuous intermediate rail of approximately 7.5 meters provides fall-through safety and stability for the balcony systems, while a minimal number of balusters and a blind attachment complete the sleek look and feel."

Special dynamics

The exterior of the facades is clad with three-dimensional elements in different heights and widths, which give the facades a special dynamic. "The elements partly extend in front of the balcony glazing," said Duin. "To prevent residents from looking through the glass against the back of the façade elements, the glass in these areas has been carefully screened."

To ensure fast and correct assembly, all balcony elements were prefabricated where possible and transported just-in-time to the construction site in Rotterdam.