year | 2021
place | Maastricht
category | wonen
138BL
138 BL
The competition for the architectural interpretation of the urban plan by Ziegler | Branderhorst urban planning and architecture included a programme of 138 social and sheltered housing units in four blocks that define the boundaries of the public space and faces the park.
Our architectural intention is to redefine this new area in a contemporary language, taking into account the historic nature of the neighbourhood and its current multi-generational character. Within the residential blocks, ground-level living (living at streetlevel) has been implemented to connect with the heart of Blauwdorp. The continuity continues in the architecture, including the reuse of existing materials.
The main entrances are designed as urban accents and generates high quality meeting places.
Design - Realization: 2018- 2024, competition, first prize
Address: Blauwdorp [Ruttensingel, Meester Ulrichweg, Proosdijweg, Heimoweg] Maastricht
Initiated by: Woningcorporatie Servatius Wonen & Vastgoed Maastricht i.s.m. Gemeente Maastricht
Project Team: Jo Janssen, Prof. Ir. Wim van den Bergh, Maud van Oerle, Andi Belulaj, Laura Piovan, Rhodée Geominy
i.c.w. ArCharis Architecture, Maastricht, Laura Piovan [https://www.archaris.com/blauwdorp]
Urban planning, park layout: Ziegler | Branderhorst stedenbouw en architectuur, Rotterdam [https://www.zieglerbranderhorst.nl/projecten/blauwe-loper-maastricht.html]
Information:
https://www.zieglerbranderhorst.nl/projecten/blauwe-loper-maastricht.html
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_30vr5bA1EhDpG2zDPZj8lKzn3MqdDmy
Urban Design interpretation
The urban volumes and their architectural appearance should serve the urban characteristics and space. In terms of size, scale, colour and materialisation, the new building volumes will be connected with the surrounding buildings, but also enter into a dialogue with each other and form the new urban structure/space: just as the walls of a house form a room, the new building volumes not only house a housing programme, but also form the walls of a new urban development and thus the social, cultural and community heart of Blauwdorp. A large outdoor space in the form of a neighbourhood park: for orientation and a meeting place.
The new urban space, the ‘Buurtpark’ [neighbourhood park], is the mainstay of the urban development plan and is formed by two axes:
Architecture
The new buildings to be constructed have a different programme and building structure to the existing buildings. The existing buildings are single-storey detached houses, a small-scale 'village structure', while the new buildings are stacked apartments.
The architectural challenge is to make the new building fit into the existing structure, despite its different programme and building structure. The architectural challenge is to translate the characteristic features of the 'garden village' into the new building. We are not advocating nostalgic architecture or copying the past for the sake of copying. But we believe in building on the ideas of this period. Not copying, but innovating. Our task is 'city repair': correcting, adapting and improving the existing through new urban and architectural interventions, without making a hard distinction between the old and the new. This is why we see the solution in the dialogue between urban planning and architecture: we do not ignore the structure of the small, ground-level houses, but accept this fact and, with the new building volumes, create new ensembles with their own identity: plastic volumes, ensemble effect, composition, rhythm, depth, shifting components in the mass. In terms of size, scale, materials and colour, the red-brown mottled brickwork we want to connect with the existing buildings.
The result of this dialogue is familiar, a continuity of the existing, but also different, giving a new identity to the ensembles, the streets and the neighbourhood.
One of the characteristics of a 'garden village' is living on the street, in the public realm. This is an important principle and provides an opportunity to make a typological distinction between ground floor and first floor within the new building volumes. Living at ground floor level is on the street by giving [almost] all dwellings at this level the main access directly from the street. This promotes the meeting and vitality of the street, the neighbourhood park and thus the neighbourhood.
All flats from the first floor upwards are accessed via a central entrance hall. The flats on the first floor face the Buurtpark or the adjoining streets, because their private outdoor space is located in the public space, but in such a way that their privacy is guaranteed. In three of the blocks, this is achieved by a setback between the first floor to the ground floor, creating a strong horizontal articulation that is not decorative but significant in terms of typology and architecture.
In the Carré block, the typological difference between the ground floor and the first floor is made by incisions and rhythm.
The difference in height of the surrounding is a site-specific feature that generates the positioning of the main entrances to logically resolve the difference in elevation within the building volumes.
Materiality, Innovation, Variety and Sustainability
The challenge is to translate the architectural and urban character of the existing building into a contemporary, affordable form: in the past, material was expensive and labour cheap, which generated many details; now labour is expensive and material is scarce and expensive.
The materialisation of the new building consists mainly of brickwork, a brick with earthy colours, mixed brownish-red, which matches the colour scheme of the existing buildings. The brick facades are characterised by simple, clear volumes, with nuances in brick and occasional accents in concrete to reinforce the architectural image: size, scale, rhythm, horizontal articulation, vertical markings, corner accents, etc.
The rhythm of window and door openings in the façade provides a visual resting point.
We live in an age of diversity: different family formations, everyone wants to live 'differently' [living space, layout, living experience].
We do not support mono-functional buildings; we try to create the possibility for diversity. Within the planning area and the residential blocks, we have chosen to generate a variety of housing types within the pattern, with a clear difference between living at ground level and living on the floor(s): in the vertical construction, the dwellings mirror each other, through outdoor spaces on the one hand to the courtyard or on the other to the public space.
In the Carré Block, on the ground floor of the Blauwe Loper, 3 apartments has been converted into a more open building structure to enable a public function for the benefit of the neighbourhood. At any time, 3 apartments can be built here.
Living along the ‘Buurtpark’ and the adjacent streets, rather than retreating to the inner areas, provides more opportunities for meeting. The urban space and the neighbourhood park in combination with living along the public space will become a catalyser for the new identity of the neighbourhood, where residents can be proud of their neighbourhood. Residents are the ambassadors of the neighbourhood, promoting it and creating a positive image.
We aim for social sustainability rather than technical sustainability.
The competition for the architectural interpretation of the urban plan by Ziegler | Branderhorst urban planning and architecture included a programme of 138 social and sheltered housing units in four blocks that define the boundaries of the public space and faces the park.
Our architectural intention is to redefine this new area in a contemporary language, taking into account the historic nature of the neighbourhood and its current multi-generational character. Within the residential blocks, ground-level living (living at streetlevel) has been implemented to connect with the heart of Blauwdorp. The continuity continues in the architecture, including the reuse of existing materials.
The main entrances are designed as urban accents and generates high quality meeting places.
Design - Realization: 2018- 2024, competition, first prize
Address: Blauwdorp [Ruttensingel, Meester Ulrichweg, Proosdijweg, Heimoweg] Maastricht
Initiated by: Woningcorporatie Servatius Wonen & Vastgoed Maastricht i.s.m. Gemeente Maastricht
Project Team: Jo Janssen, Prof. Ir. Wim van den Bergh, Maud van Oerle, Andi Belulaj, Laura Piovan, Rhodée Geominy
i.c.w. ArCharis Architecture, Maastricht, Laura Piovan [https://www.archaris.com/blauwdorp]
Urban planning, park layout: Ziegler | Branderhorst stedenbouw en architectuur, Rotterdam [https://www.zieglerbranderhorst.nl/projecten/blauwe-loper-maastricht.html]
Information:
https://www.zieglerbranderhorst.nl/projecten/blauwe-loper-maastricht.html
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_30vr5bA1EhDpG2zDPZj8lKzn3MqdDmy
Urban Design interpretation
The urban volumes and their architectural appearance should serve the urban characteristics and space. In terms of size, scale, colour and materialisation, the new building volumes will be connected with the surrounding buildings, but also enter into a dialogue with each other and form the new urban structure/space: just as the walls of a house form a room, the new building volumes not only house a housing programme, but also form the walls of a new urban development and thus the social, cultural and community heart of Blauwdorp. A large outdoor space in the form of a neighbourhood park: for orientation and a meeting place.
The new urban space, the ‘Buurtpark’ [neighbourhood park], is the mainstay of the urban development plan and is formed by two axes:
- the newly created east-west connection, the ‘Blauwe Loper’, as an urban axis between the inner city, with the Vrijthof, the churches St. Servatius and St. Jan as orientation points, and the Mariaberg, with the Fatima Church as orientation point on the western side of the planning area;
- the existing north-south axis, the Ruttensingel, as an urban axis between the Theresia Church on the south side of the Tongerseweg and the Annadal flats at the St. Annadal roundabout.
Architecture
The new buildings to be constructed have a different programme and building structure to the existing buildings. The existing buildings are single-storey detached houses, a small-scale 'village structure', while the new buildings are stacked apartments.
The architectural challenge is to make the new building fit into the existing structure, despite its different programme and building structure. The architectural challenge is to translate the characteristic features of the 'garden village' into the new building. We are not advocating nostalgic architecture or copying the past for the sake of copying. But we believe in building on the ideas of this period. Not copying, but innovating. Our task is 'city repair': correcting, adapting and improving the existing through new urban and architectural interventions, without making a hard distinction between the old and the new. This is why we see the solution in the dialogue between urban planning and architecture: we do not ignore the structure of the small, ground-level houses, but accept this fact and, with the new building volumes, create new ensembles with their own identity: plastic volumes, ensemble effect, composition, rhythm, depth, shifting components in the mass. In terms of size, scale, materials and colour, the red-brown mottled brickwork we want to connect with the existing buildings.
The result of this dialogue is familiar, a continuity of the existing, but also different, giving a new identity to the ensembles, the streets and the neighbourhood.
One of the characteristics of a 'garden village' is living on the street, in the public realm. This is an important principle and provides an opportunity to make a typological distinction between ground floor and first floor within the new building volumes. Living at ground floor level is on the street by giving [almost] all dwellings at this level the main access directly from the street. This promotes the meeting and vitality of the street, the neighbourhood park and thus the neighbourhood.
All flats from the first floor upwards are accessed via a central entrance hall. The flats on the first floor face the Buurtpark or the adjoining streets, because their private outdoor space is located in the public space, but in such a way that their privacy is guaranteed. In three of the blocks, this is achieved by a setback between the first floor to the ground floor, creating a strong horizontal articulation that is not decorative but significant in terms of typology and architecture.
In the Carré block, the typological difference between the ground floor and the first floor is made by incisions and rhythm.
The difference in height of the surrounding is a site-specific feature that generates the positioning of the main entrances to logically resolve the difference in elevation within the building volumes.
Materiality, Innovation, Variety and Sustainability
The challenge is to translate the architectural and urban character of the existing building into a contemporary, affordable form: in the past, material was expensive and labour cheap, which generated many details; now labour is expensive and material is scarce and expensive.
The materialisation of the new building consists mainly of brickwork, a brick with earthy colours, mixed brownish-red, which matches the colour scheme of the existing buildings. The brick facades are characterised by simple, clear volumes, with nuances in brick and occasional accents in concrete to reinforce the architectural image: size, scale, rhythm, horizontal articulation, vertical markings, corner accents, etc.
The rhythm of window and door openings in the façade provides a visual resting point.
We live in an age of diversity: different family formations, everyone wants to live 'differently' [living space, layout, living experience].
We do not support mono-functional buildings; we try to create the possibility for diversity. Within the planning area and the residential blocks, we have chosen to generate a variety of housing types within the pattern, with a clear difference between living at ground level and living on the floor(s): in the vertical construction, the dwellings mirror each other, through outdoor spaces on the one hand to the courtyard or on the other to the public space.
In the Carré Block, on the ground floor of the Blauwe Loper, 3 apartments has been converted into a more open building structure to enable a public function for the benefit of the neighbourhood. At any time, 3 apartments can be built here.
Living along the ‘Buurtpark’ and the adjacent streets, rather than retreating to the inner areas, provides more opportunities for meeting. The urban space and the neighbourhood park in combination with living along the public space will become a catalyser for the new identity of the neighbourhood, where residents can be proud of their neighbourhood. Residents are the ambassadors of the neighbourhood, promoting it and creating a positive image.
We aim for social sustainability rather than technical sustainability.
