Hollands Tallest UC Tops Out

The tallest tower under construction in the Netherlands, Het Strijkijzer, has topped out. Going up in the Hague, the building is 132 metres tall, 41 storeys and residential in use.

Inspired by the a famous New York tall, the name is literally Dutch for Flat Iron after the supposed inspiration. Penned by AAArchitecten they've relied on the prominent curved cornering alongside the street and the roughly triangular footprint as the main signature in the plans.

There are however shades of the Commerzbank Tower in Frankfurt in the design too due to the open space and sky-gardens in the building that exposes up the interior to daylight in the same manner as Foster's German concept and creates an impression of depth when looking inwards.

Following through the pastiche even more, is the spiked crown that bears a striking similarity to the DG Bank Tower, also in Frankfurt.

Not all of the building however is curving, it is clearly one with a front and back. Whilst the front corners do curve the back view is more like a traditional tower block with plenty of concrete. Like something lumbering out of the sixties instead of a modern building, this is apt perhaps due to the Dutch love of Modernism and conservative architecture that is still going from strength to strength today.

The use of pre-fabricated concrete isn't simply an aesthetic decision but one that comes down to efficient construction management. With Dutch construction sites being small with little space on board, pre-fab allows them to fit things on the building site in a way that large steel beams will not allow which is one reason why so many tall buildings in Rotterdam and the Hague turn out the way they do.

The interior is now being fitted out and Het Strijkijzer will be open before the end of the year. If anyone wants to check it out, the top floor will be open to visitors.