A new store has been realised in the city of Haarlem. The historic facade of the former building has been retained. The ground floor has large windows reflecting the function of the building. The shop has a floor area of ​​approximately 3,000 m². The shop is rented by international fashion chain Zara.

Challenges encountered in the project include the surrounding adjacent structures, the busy city centre conditions onsite and the daylight at the apartments in the back of the building. B+O Architects has taken the necessary measures in cooperating with the builder and the contractor – Kondor Wessels Amsterdam – to stabilize adjacent structures.

The city centre conditions required quite a bit of planning and organisation, especially from the contractor.There was, for example, no space around the building for storage and construction trailers. Therefore, these had to be placed inside of the building under construction. 

To maintain maximum daylight hours, the 2nd floor roof extension that was originally planned, has been left unbuilt. The former building had a back garden. To retain a green space in the new plan, a landscaped roof garden was added.