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Zonnestraal-2

The sanatorium was designed according to the modernist principles of 'het Nieuwe Bouwen' (new way of building) by Johannes (Jan) Duiker in collaboration with Bernard Bijvoet and engineer Wiebenga, an early specialist in concrete constructions. The main building and the Ter Meulen pavilion opened in 1928. The Dresselhuys pavilion was finished in 1931, De Koepel pavilion in 1934. There has been ongoing restauration since 1997 by Dutch architects Hubert-Jan Henket and Wessel de Jonge. The main building and workshops were restored in 2003. The exterior envelope of the Dresselhuys pavilion was restored in 2008. Further restoration stages are being planned. The surrounding site is being restored by landscape architect Bureau Alle HospeZonnestraal was built as a tuberculosis sanatorium in the 1920s and 1930s. The building features the classic design of the sanatorium, which focuses on as much open space and fresh air as possible. However, it still embodies the definition of the modern architecture by the immense amount of repetition and the avoidance of superfluous decoration. The building is mostly made of transparent materials to allow as much light as possible to enter the patients' rooms. With this transparency, the building runs a large risk of overheating. However, the architects understood these risks and incorporated a cooling system in the building; something that was not common at this point in time. The surfaces that are not transparent are very sterile and smooth in appearance making very hygienic surroundings. The buildings are arranged in a loose "pin-wheel" design that created separation between patients' rooms, giving each of them the adequate amount of sunlight needed for therapy. The distribution of space in this manner created the ability for every patient to have a sunbathing balcony that was unobstructed by any other patient's room or building. The design of this architecture can be referred to as Heliotherapeutic Architecture (Light therapy) and was actually a short lived style in its purpose for therapy because of the discovery of the cure for tuberculosis. However, this style focuses on the engineering required to satisfy the patient's needs. In fact, the architects preferred to refer to themselves as building engineers.[4] After abandonment in the 1980s the building was submitted to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites. However, with this submittal, the building's structural deterioration could not be solved by demolition and rebuilding. Instead new techniques of concrete repair had to be used

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Uploaded on January 26, 2018
Taken on January 25, 2018