NOORDERPARKBAR

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Coffee bar made of Markplaats-materials

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The Noorderparkbar is the first 100% marktplaats-building of the Netherlands. All the materials used to build this tiny coffee bar were bought second-hand at marktplaats.nl, a Dutch eBay type site, from around a hundred individuals and small traders. Yet, the pavilion looks brand new. 

The process of creating the bar was in itself somewhat unusual. Finding money for the project through a website for crowdfunding and buying second-hand materials meant that designing and building took place simultaneously. It was impossible to make a final design beforehand, since what’s on offer at marktplaats.nl changes continuously. Only after having bought a certain item, can one be sure that it’s usable, and then it has to be used. 

The construction of the bar consists of 3 stripped-down units originally intended for a temporary hospital. One unit got new facades made of windows, and a roof made of skylights. This unit contains a bar and two toilets. The other ones, stacked on top of one another, frame the terrace. The whole pavilion can be closed at night with large wooden shutters to prevent it from being vandalized. The wooden shutters were charred, an ancient Japanese technique called shou sugi ban, which makes the wood more durable. The first ‘marktplaats’ purchase was a second-hand lorry, with which we collected the materials to from all over Holland. After that, the hospital units, 42 windows, a few thousand meters of wood, 55 liters of paint, 2 toilets, lots of ceramic tiles in white and green, and many more objects followed, most of it leftovers from do-it-yourself renovations. 

After its completion, the 18m2 building became an icon for sustainable building in the Netherlands. When we were working on the project, only a few people understood why one would want to build with second-hand material if one might as well buy new stuff. Ten years later, another client responded to a design we made with: 'I really like it and I know it is a sustainable design, but it looks so new. Can't you do something with second hand or so?'

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