LEIDEN, Netherlands — In the late 1970s, architect Joop van Stigt designed a building for the Faculty of Humanities of Leiden University. Cluster Zuid is a beautiful piece of structuralist architecture that is now being thoroughly renovated by De Zwarte Hond architecture.
The reuse of most of the original building and façade is a notable achievement. Concrete columns from the demolished central house were reused in the extension. Other materials were also given a new life. For example, the old Sequoia redwood ceiling panels were transformed into wall cladding in the atrium. These slats were carefully worked on, stripped of nails, and milled in collaboration with the social workshop BWRI. The specific pattern of the slats meant that everything could be prefabricated and installed, minimizing waste.

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