The team with VVKH Architects, Dura Vermeer and Besix has been selected for the design and build of a five-story underground parkinggarage in the historical center of Leiden.
| Status | design 2013 |
| Architects | Ronald Knappers, Thomas Gillet |
The urban plan for the city-centre of Zeist provides for necessary architectural interventions, but is mainly concerned with the quality of public space. Identified characteristics of Zeist have been projected on the city centre. By doing this the centre will be much greener and facades will be restored to what they used to look like. The urban plan defines three different shoppingzones, each with their own atmosphere and type of shops. By banning cars a continuous and compact shopping area with pleasant pedestrian streets emerges.
A big part of the urban plan is the redevelopment of the library. VVKH aims to reuse the building as much as possible. The building is less than 30 years old and apart from the closed facades it functions well. In the new design we make shoppingfacades on the ground floor, moving the library to a new part of the building. On top we planned 58 apartments with a shared garden. Reuse of the existing building may demand an extra effort, but offers a very sustainable sollution and saves on investments.
Just south of Berkel & Rodenrijs a new fire station has been built to service the suburbs build between Rotterdam and The Hague. Because of the growing number of inhabitants in this region, a future extension is already taken into account in the design. The total plot is covered with a steel mesh in which all future extensions will fit. The façade is covered with corten steel plating wich create the desired sturdy look.
Woonboulevard Voorsterpoort in Zwolle is a well-running residential boulevard near the exit of the A28 motorway. Market research shows that there is room for expansion with more than 30,000 m² GFA for large-scale retail. Plots are available for expansion behind the existing boulevard. In our vision, the expansion will be realized around an oval square with parking at ground level. All shops are visible from anywhere on the square. Landmarks will be realized at the ends. The extension will be connected to the existing boulevard through a gate. The existing boulevard will be renovated, so that the shopping center will eventually again present itself as a cohesive complex. The plan can be realized in phases.
The “Meerwijk” district in Schalkwijk, built in the 1960s, has been built on the corner of Bernadottelaan and Albert Schweizerlaan. This center is part of the urban design that was made by our office in 2001. The building with retail spaces, including the Vomar supermarket, an underground parking garage with 215 places and 74 apartments, is one of the sub-plans of the community center. The whole has a modern, transparent and friendly character and adapts well to the neighborhood.
