A redevelopment plan in the Dutch city of Eindhoven will combine new construction with renovated existing buildings to create a 29,000-sm mixed-use community. The project, which was awarded to MVRDV and SDK Vastgoed after their submission won the project’s design competition, will consist of 240 new homes, 1,700 sm of commercial space, 270 sm of urban farming space, and underground parking.
The project, dubbed Nieuw Bergen, is designed with a hyper-modern flair to echo Eindhoven’s status as a city of technology and knowledge. Natural light is one of the most important features of the project. The volumes follow a strict height limit and design guideline that allows for the maximum amount of natural sunlight, views, and reduced visibility from street levels, according to Jacbo van Rijs, Co-Founder of MVRDV.
Rendering courtesy of MVRDV.
Imaginary planes at an angle of 45 degrees are drawn from the footprint of neighboring residential buildings, which results in building forms with jagged silhouettes. The 45-degree angles provide the maximum amount of sunlight for the houses and the public spaces and make the roofs less visible from the ground floor.
Rendering courtesy of MVRDV.
Oblique roof panels are suited for solar installations or to accommodate green roofs. Gardens and greenhouses with lamella roof structures sit atop many of the buildings while the sloping, angled roofs will help to create a varied roof landscape. The façade of the buildings will feature neutral colors and a variety of materials such as glazed ceramic, stone, wood, and concrete.
Rendering courtesy of MVRDV.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Gold Award: Westin Book Cadillac Hotel & Condominiums Detroit, Mich.
“From eyesore to icon.” That's how Reconstruction Awards judge K. Nam Shiu so concisely described the restoration effort that turned the decimated Book Cadillac Hotel into a modern hotel and condo development. The tallest hotel in the world when it opened in 1924, the 32-story Renaissance Revival structure was revered as a jewel in the then-bustling Motor City.
| Aug 11, 2010
Silver Award: Palmer House Hilton Hotel & Shops Chicago, Ill.
Chicago's Palmer House Hilton holds the record for the longest continuously operated hotel in North America. It was originally built in 1871 by Potter Palmer, one of America's first millionaire developers. When it was rebuilt after the Great Chicago Fire it became the first hotel in the U.S. to put a telephone in every room.
| Aug 11, 2010
Gulf Coast Hotel's Stormy Road to Recovery
After his initial tour of the dilapidated 1850s-era Battle House Hotel, Ron Blount, construction manager with Retirement Systems of Alabama, said to his boss: “You need a priest more than you need a contractor.” Those words were more prescient to RSA's restoration of the historic Mobile landmark than he could have known at the time.
| Aug 11, 2010
Lifestyle Hotel Trends Around the World
When the Rocco Forte Collection opens the Verdura Golf & Spa Resort in Sicily in early 2009, the 200-room luxury property will be one of the world's newest lifestyle hotels. Lifestyle hotels cater to guests seeking a heightened travel experience, which they deliver by offering distinctive—some would say avant-garde, or even outrageous—architecture, room design, amenities, and en...