48 • June 2017 www.concreteproducts.com
FINAL FORM
ARCHITECTURAL
Ornamentation, a long tradition in architecture, is moving
into the digital age thanks in part to Dutch architect Changiz
Tehrani. He has incorporated 22 concrete emojis into the
façade of a mixed-use building in the Vathorst district of
Amersfoort, Holland.
"In classical architecture, they used to put heads of the
king—or whatever—on the façades," Tehrani, who works
for the firm Attika Architekten, told The Verge. "We were
thinking, what can we use as an ornament so when you look
at this building in 10 or 20 years you can say, 'Hey, this is
from that year'."
Placed at regular intervals along the building's white
concrete banding, the emojis blend easily with the simple
gridded brick façade. They only appear on one side of the
building, which overlooks a public square. Tehrani converted
the emojis from the messenger platform WhatsApp into 3D
models. Out of more than 1,000 emojis available, Tehrani and
his team only chose faces as they were the most expressive
and recognizable. Dutch firm Millro used wood molds to cast
the emoji in concrete.
Although construction on the building was completed
in 2015, the emojis were only installed earlier this year.
According to Tehrani, locals have expressed mixed opinions
on the design element; some haven't noticed them at all.
Tehrani added that while the building may show its age fairly
quickly, as the emoji fad passes, it will still reflect this era.
"Maybe we won't use emoji in 10 years: that's fine, it's still
from our time."
Emoji embellishments immortalize contemporary society on building façade
Architect Changiz Tehrani poses with one of his concrete
emojis prior to installation.
PHOTOS: Bart van Hoek, Attika Architekten