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Leidsche Rijn Centrum G8

Tango - Collective social housing

Block G8, also called “Tango”, stands near the Berlijnplein in Leidsche Rijn Centrum, Utrecht and was designed by BureauVanEig and Zecc architects. The plan includes 178 social housing units, for tenants of corporations Woonin & Portaal. The Design & Build project came about through intensive collaboration with BAM.

 

The urban building block has 6 to 9 floors and includes a communal courtyard. The major challenge in this project was to realize affordable housing, fitting within the high ambition of Jo Coenen’s urban plan. This was achieved, among other things, by a clever design of the building block from three basic floor plans and an innovative building system. The building was realized with a high sustainability ambition, including extra high Rc values, energy-efficient systems with heat recovery and triple glazing.

 

Urban integration
The location is unique because of its prominent position at the beginning of Leidsche Rijn Center, its location at park Leeuwesteyn and the inner-city quality of Valletta- and Romestraat. The design of the block carefully matches this context. Setbacks give the building powerful corner accents, giving it a monumental character. The arch forms refer to the pergola of the Stadsbaantunnel and to architectural elements from Utrecht’s inner city. The entire building is characterized by a lively, solid plinth made of prefabricated concrete.

 a different high plinth are recurring elements. The courtyard is laid out as a residential garden with trees and plants.

City Block
The residential block is designed as a solid city block, as we are familiar with in the European city, with a plinth, a middle section and a roof ending. The two architectural firms were inspired by the brick architecture in Milan of Italian architect Giovanni Muzio, among others. Wide pennants, areas with brick relief, different masonry bonds and

 

Stairwell as an urban design element
The central stairwell with its arched form on the courtyard garden stands on the axis of Madridstraat, where the block opens up to the city. Because the stairwell manifests itself as a detached element, it branches off from the main urban structure. The arched forms of the pergola indicate that something special is happening here and invite visitors to enter the courtyard. In addition to its connecting function, this colonnade also forms the entrance to the courtyard and the underground parking garage.

 

Photography: Loes van Duivendijk Photograpy en Laurens Kuipers Architectuurfotografie 

location:
LEIDSCHE RIJN CENTRUM Utrecht
category:
Housing
m2:
19.000
client:
BAM
Team:
BUREAUVANEIG
program:
178 APARTMENTS, parking garage
period:
2018 - 2023
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Intermediate Facility
Directly next to the pergola there is a space for the Intermediate Facility. This is an organization that helps people who have come from social care, for example because of debts or because they have been homeless. Asking and contributing residents live in G8; the contributing residents can provide assistance if needed, with support from the Intermediate Facility.

 

Living Together
The high degree of social control and encounters is an important design principle. This is stimulated in various ways. The loft homes are located at ground level and have their own front door on the street. This makes the building open, accessible and lively on all sides; this is where people live. The stairwells are strategically placed and are accessible from both the street and the courtyard side. Access to small bike racks takes place from the central courtyard, triggering encounters. Most outdoor spaces are located along the gallery, on the noiseless inner side of the courtyard. It is a unique solution that creates a lively and socially safe courtyard.

 

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Innovative construction system
An innovative, scaffold-free, prefab construction system was chosen. The prefabricated elements consist of a timber frame construction part with insulation and are finished with thin, mineral stone strips. This has several advantages; Because the elements are prefabricated, the construction site is clean and free of scaffolding and a home is wind and watertight immediately after placing the elements. A crane hangs the elements in place. The structure of the elements also ensures significant weight and cost savings.

 

Careful detailing
Applying an innovative construction system requires careful detailing. The biggest challenge with this system was to create a sturdy and solid-looking building with the thin brick strips. After all, we want to show the powerful European city. We have worked intensively with the manufacturer to achieve this in such a way that it also goes well from a structural perspective. A lot of time has been spent on connections and corner solutions. The seams of the prefab elements are concealed in relief and shadow joints. The use of mineral strips made it possible to apply a wide variety of ‘masonry’ bonds, which gives the buildings a great architectural richness. The strip itself is larger than a standard Waal format, creating a more robust facade image. Colored concrete has been used at plinth level in the bottom two layers, where the visitor touches the building or places a bicycle against it.

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