Named Veilige Veste, meaning 'safe fortress', the three-storey building in Leeuwarden, Friesland, provides a home for 48 girls that have suffered as victims of prostitution or abuse.

The building was first constructed as a police station in the 1970s and the new diagonally folded facade panels act to both screen the original structure and provide room for additional insulation.

Beatrice Montesano of KAW compares the faceted white squares to diamonds. Unlike refuges "tucked away in anonymous back alleys," she says that the facade of the Veilige Veste has "a subtle gleam that interacts with its environment."

Beneath the white squares, wooden panels and large windows regularly alternate along the ground floor elevations.

Offices, meeting rooms and treatment rooms occupy this ground floor, while bedrooms and living rooms for residents are split into six separate groups on the first and second storeys.

Rooms on the second floor surround a roof terrace, which offers a protected outdoor space that the girls can use without having to leave the building.

“A patio in Italy has a very important function," said Montesano. "That is where the family comes together, where you relax, where you find tranquillity in a busy city. The atmosphere in the patio is always completely different from outside the building; here you sense a much more warm and intimate atmosphere.”

Other refuges we've featured on Dezeen include a centre for drug and alcohol rehabilitation in London and a centre for blinded sailors, soldiers and airmen in Scotland.

Photography is by Gerard Van Beek.

Here are a few words from the architects about the building's energy consumption:

Massive Energy Reduction through Passive House

What is revolutionary about the ‘Veilige Veste’, is that this is the first large office block in the Netherlands to be renovated according to the Passive House standard. ‘Passive House’ is a standard for energy efficiency in a building, reducing its ecological footprint. It results in ultra-low energy buildings that require little energy for space heating or cooling. In this case, the fact that the former police stations’ substructure was placed outside the building, meant an enormous energy abuser to be dealt with.

The substructure created a thermal bridge that works exactly like a tunnel sucking in the cold outside air. By wrapping the building with the diamond-cut square panels, the substructure is now within the building and the whole building is covered by a thick layer of insulation. At some points, the façade is over 3 feet thicker now. Thanks to optimal insulation, draft proofing and the use of very little, highly energy-efficient equipment, the ‘Veilige Veste’ consumes exceptionally little power.

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by KAW appeared first on Dezeen.

Dezeen and Gestalten have teamed up to give readers the chance to win five copies of the new book about Japanese interior designer Masamichi Katayama of Wonderwall.

The 256 pages-book, published by Frame, and distributed by Gestalten includes photographs and sketches documenting more than 40 projects by the designer. See Wonderwall's Bape Kids and Bapexclusive stores in our earlier stories.

This competition has now closed.

The five winners will be selected at random and notified by email. Winners’ names will be published in a future edition of our Dezeenmail newsletter.

The following information is from Gestalten:

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"TO INTEGRATE CLEAR MESSAGES INTO DESIGNS AND LET EVERYONE FEEL THEM INSTANTANEOUSLY - THAT IS MY JOB. AS I MOVE AMONG MY VARIOUS PROJECTS, I ENJOY EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THE PROCESSES INVOLVED." - Masamichi Katayama

Wonderwall is Masamichi Katayama. The internationally renowned interior and retail designer is synonymous with exquisite quality and applies his distinctive trademark showmanship to create visionary retail environments.

This publication introduces over forty recent projects by Japan’s hottest retail designer with an extraordinary selection of interior designs for boutiques and retail outlets from high-end luxury spaces to mega stores in Japan, Great Britain, France, the United States and Hong Kong. Masamichi Katayama skillfully integrates diverse interior design elements including light, furniture, material and proportion in a unique and unrivalled fashion that translates into flawless design, comfort and functionality.

Designed by Groovisions, this book vividly demonstrates why Katayama’s work has been considered groundbreaking for interior design since the founding of Wonderwall in 2000. Insightful articles by Tyler Brulé, the Editor in Chief of Monocle, John C. Jay, Wieden+Kennedy’s Creative Director, Rei Kawakubo and many more affirm this appraisal.

Wonderwall: Masamichi Katayama Projects N˚2 presents a brilliant collection of work by an outstanding designer of our time.

For more information: www.wonder-wall.com

Book Information
Title: Wonderwall
Subtitle: Masamichi Katayama Projects N˚2
Edited by: Satoko Suzuki
Language: English
Published by: Frame Publishers
Distributed worldwide by: Gestalten
Format: 24 x 32 cm, 256 pages, full colour, hardcover
Price: € 49,90 / $ 79,00 / £ 37,50
ISBN: 978-3-89955-304-8
EU Release: October 2008
NA Release: November 2008

Buy this book and others at the Dezeenbooks store
(in association with amazon.co.uk)
Congratulations to the winners! Liza Chong in the UK, Michael Leng in New Zealand, Emmanuel Perceau in Belgium, Sabina Mrowińska in Poland and Alex Pipoz in Switzerland all won copies of Wonderwall Masamichi Katayama Projects No 2.

The post Competition: five copies of Wonderwall Masamichi Katayama Projects No 2 to be won appeared first on Dezeen.