"Screening diversity" is the name that Dutch photographer Robin de Puy has given her artwork that was printed on the zip-screens with Sergé 3% fabric for the new buildings of the University of Maastricht. Her goal was "to make diversity visible and tangible by celebrating peoples similarities. The photos highlight "aspects of being human that everyone knows: love, fear, aging, talent, courage, etc."
Our partner Schellekens & Schellekens installed the blinds just in time for the opening of the Academic Year on August 31st 2020. To make this possible, Helioscreen worked in close correspondence with the printing company Printable. Because many people walk closely past the blinds and could scratch the artwork in so doing, Printable protected the prints with a special finishing layer.
The Tapijnkazerne are former military barracks of over 100 years old that were renovated in 2020 to house several faculties of the Maastricht University. It consist of three characteristic pavilion buildings. The architects added a connecting building on underground level with a thirty meter long glass façade. The zip-screens protect the rooms behind from glare and help to save energy. This is their most important purpose, but here, the screens also form a canvas for the beautiful photographs of Robin de Puy, commissioned by the Art and Heritage Committee of the University.
The design of the renovation of the Tapijn barracks has been awarded a BREEAM-NL certificate with the title "excellent". All these things emphasize what the University wants to be: "inclusive, innovative, international and firmly anchored in the city of Maastricht."
More information and a video of the screens, can be found here (in Dutch).
