Our knowledge of precast concrete facades is becoming more relevant each day.
Buildings with precast concrete façades are relatively new in relation to monument listing, due to architectural and constructive innovations being related to these façades. However, these buildings are also next in line for demolition due to their age and Brutalist architectural expression. These precast concrete façades were commonly used after World War II due to their quick and easy assembly, together with the material being easy to obtain. From the 1960s and onwards, advancements in technology resulted in a combination of aesthetics, structure and function for these façades. This research aims to create a better understanding as to why precast buildings of the post-WWII period are in many cases physical evidence of a construction history that was innovative and revolutionary, by showing the development of building and material technology in case-studies with precast concrete façades. The results reveal that Schokbeton played an important transformational and transitional factor in the history of precast concrete, which led to advancements in technology, such as the creation of the loadbearing precast concrete façade. These results lead to a stronger determination of the values connected to precast concrete façades, which are essential in order to come up with a good redesign strategy. The main case-study for this research is the police headquarters in The Hague, due to the presence of two different types of precast concrete façades: a Schokbeton façade and a later built loadbearing precast concrete façade. Historic research together with case-study research was used to collect information on these different types of façades.