Home and Living Mall Ekkersrijt is located on the north of Eindhoven, directly at the highway A50. In 2013 the existing shopping mall (21.000 sq.mtrs) has been extensively renovated and expanded with 24.000 sqr.mtrs.
New look and feel
The existing building was outdated and made up of separate buildings, with closed unattractive facades and entrances, shop windows only facing the courtyard. Experience and length of stay have been central themes to the renovation and expansion. The new complex has been given a contemporary, modern feel. Old, loose components and constructions are forged into a recognizable, homogeneous unit, which is easily visible from the public road. In addition, a pleasant living environment has been created for visitors. The original stores remained open during this major redevelopment. With intensive consultation and coordination between designer, consultants, tenants and builder the inconvenience during the construction has been limited to a minimum. With this transformation the center has been made future-proof.
Renovation
Existing shops have been given new facades to meet with the requirements of present times and to become one with the extension. Besides facades also the roof has been thoroughly upgraded and installations (among others sprinkler system) have been replaced, modernized. Signing is carefully incorporated and nowhere predominant.
Extension
The new building has a distinctive façade of metal with a specifically, laser cut pattern. Recessed into the façade are the neon signs and the ramps to the parking deck. The movements of the cars on the ramps provides extra dynamism in a natural way.
On the former courtyard a freestanding oval new shop building is made. This building forms the heart of the new home and living mall and is, due to its special design, an icon to the highway and nearby. From the parking deck visitors reach the heart through walkways and they go with elevators and escalators to the open and indoor malls on the lower levels of the complex. Shops on the upper floors thereby have the same run as on the ground floor. Because of the oval building shopping at ground level has a pleasant scale with shops on both sides.
| Architects | Gerrit-Jan van Rijswijk, Fons Verheijen |
| Employees | Tijmen Versluis |
The Wall in motion
The Wall shopping center in Leidsche Rijn, located next to the A2, which also serves as a noise barrier, changed hands in 2018. Together with the new owners, real estate investors / developers Built to Build and Urban Interest, we have investigated parts that have not been implemented or have been incompletely completed and measures that are additionally needed to optimize the letting of the building. Since then, they have been working with them on perfecting both the building and the public space to make the shopping center a success.
The first steps for the Wall 2.0 have now been taken.
Since December 2018, a new AMAC location has been opened in the end building. We have made a number of allotment proposals and prepared various units in the end building based on the layout agreed with AMAC. The interior design was provided by Apple itself. In addition to a retail space, this location includes an auditorium, training room, service desk and repair center and warehouse / storage space in The Wall.
A number of improvements / changes that were implemented in 2019 and 2020 are an extra rise point to make the parking roof accessible from the adjacent office building, and an extra retail space on the deck. The entrance on the south side of the building has been adapted, with a tapis roulant and extra escalators. And on the north side of the building, an extra entrance, rising point and a roof building will be realized.
In addition, the possibilities for sustainability are being investigated by installing solar panels on the parking deck, making the parking deck greener and redesigning the ground level.
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).
The retail park "De Centrale" takes its name from the power plant (PEB) that was located at this location. With the exception of one Nuon building, everything has been demolished and the location is gradually being transformed into shops. The current retail floor area is over 30.000 m2. This makes De Centrale the regional shopping center of Friesland. The planned expansion of 15.000 m² will further strengthen this regional position. The design has a recognizable shape and brings cohesion between the different buildings, a clear public space and a clear entrance. The advertising is an integral part of the design. In anticipation of this expansion, a new KFC branch has been designed and built on the site (2017).
On the Boerhaave Campus, part of the Bio Science park in Leiden, the historical anatomy-building has been transformed into housing for Phd-students and researchers of the Leiden University. The new apartments are characterized by their high ceilings and old constructions. A small mezzanine is created to function as a bedroom. Right beside the existing building a new appartmentbuilding is erected, designed by Van Gameren of Mecanoo Architects. The total complex contains 166 apartments and is the first step in the complete transformation of the Boerhaave Campus.
