The plot Oeverpolder is located in the central part of the Hoornespolder, a 1960s reconstruction area. In recent years, this district has undergone a transformation, where living is more focused on the public space and a clearer separation is made between public and private.
In the design for the new-build location, a U-shaped courtyard building was chosen, which in terms of architecture and grain size connects to the existing buildings. The green structure of the neighborhood is reinforced with the design. The transition between the residential building and the public space has been carefully designed. There are no garages, storage rooms and blind facades in the public space. The U-shaped building contains a total of 52 apartments of 53-88 m2. The building on Hoorneslaan has 4 storeys, the other two sides are 3 storeys high. The houses are all accessible via (widened) galleries in the courtyard, parking is partly in the courtyard and partly on public land, on the street.
The masonry architecture is in line with previous transformations on Hoorneslaan, but also fits in well with the existing modern reconstruction architecture of, for example, the adjacent Pniëlkerk. Due to the sloping boundary of the plot on Hoorneslaan, the building block has been given characteristic staggered façades here. It is an all-round designed building that at the same time has a new and unique character, but also fits well in the neighborhood.
| Architects | Ronald Knappers, Thomas Gillet |
| Client(s) | Dunavie Katwijk |
Middelsee is the expansion plan on the southwest side of Leeuwarden, based on an urban design by West 8. The Frisian water city serves as a source of inspiration. Commissioned by the smallest housing association in the Netherlands, we have designed a plan for homes arranged around two green courtyards. It forms a small-scale community with plenty of space for encounters, and a robust waterfront with the apartment building as its eye-catcher.
Using simple means, variety is created so that no more than two houses are ever the same. The foundation remains consistent: a compact floor plan, lightly jointed red brickwork, and solid white window frames. We introduce variation through a dormer or a brick roof extension, a roof edge detail, or a distinctive entrance feature. The client’s existing housing stock in Leeuwarden’s city center also served as inspiration — a characteristic working-class neighborhood with abundant greenery.
In our plan, residents meet each other around private stoops and gardens bordered by low hedges, as well as along the wide galleries on the timber façade of the apartment building. Shared bicycle storage areas and shared cars also contribute to the sense of community.
The plan ‘de Biezenhof’ is part of the new residential area ‘Waterrijk Woerden’ and is situated along a natural watery region. The urban scheme of ‘Waterrijk Woerden’ was designed by West 8 and refers to the traditional Dutch water cities such as Delft and Leiden. The design is made in collabiation with Klunder architects. Almost every dwelling is individual and has a specific connection to the water.
The plan of Biezenhof is divided in two parts: there is one block of family houses around a courtyard on the edge of the lake, and there is a row of water houses and apartments along a canal.
The buyers of the houses could choose between several types of houses as well as between four architects. Due to the possibilities in combining type and architect, not one house is the same. Every house has a singular character: the lake houses have a beautiful view on the lake, the street houses have a garden, and the canal houses enclose big terraces. In the public space there are a few parking places, the majority of parking places are organised in garages.
The houses designed by Knappers are characteristic because of the huge roof overhanging the façade. This contributes to the shelter-against-the water identity of the houses, and refers to the greenhouse glass constructions in the low lands. At the street side these houses are made of brick, which gives them a closed and open (to the light and the water) individuality.
For the residential house Rapenburg 49 in Leiden, a listed national monument, we designed a plan that both enhances sustainability and strengthens the building’s historical and spatial qualities.
The house consists of a front and rear section. The period rooms in the front house have been restored to their former glory — original details and colors were reinstated, and new wall coverings were applied. The family, with two children, lives in the rear house, which they wished to renovate as sustainably as possible.
By implementing a breathable insulation system, a new insulated ground floor, and an air-source heat pump, the rear house has been successfully taken off the gas grid. During the renovation, the layout was improved, and a dormer and several roof windows were added. The connections on the ground floor between the kitchen and living/dining room, and on the upper floor between the bedroom and library, were reinstated. In all interventions, a careful balance between modern technology and historical awareness was sought.
The project was realized in close collaboration with the client, restoration company Burgy, and Erfgoed Leiden.
Photography: Arjen Veldt
Together with restoration contractor Burgy from Leiden, the back house, the garden house of the house at Garenmarkt 9 / 9a, has been completely restored and modernized. The new owner lives in this part. The front house with a number of apartments / studios for rent will remain unchanged for the time being.
The house at Garenmarkt 9, 9a is also popularly known as 'Thorbeckehuis'. The house has one of the largest private backyards in Leiden. In the Secret Annex, the garden house (No. 9a), the liberal statesman Johan Rudolph Thorbecke wrote in 1848 the revision of the Constitution, which turned our country into a constitutional monarchy. Thorbecke has lead three cabinets from 1849. A gable stone in the national monument reminds of the habitation by the liberal statesman and professor of law (1798-1872).
