In cooperation with Smits bouwbedrijf, VVKH has won the european tender to develop a new housingarea in district Dieperhout in Leiden. The project consists of 48 dwellings, 12 apartments and a care facility of 1500m². Start of the constructionwork is planned in may 2015, because thats when a current school will move to a new building and the site will be available.
| Architects | Ronald Knappers |
| Employees | Hans Schepman |
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
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.
VVKH, commissioned by Hoorne Vastgoed, developed the development vision for housing on top of the existing shopping center in the center of Castricum. The inward-looking shopping center, dating from the 1970s, is a single-story development with parking at ground level surrounding it. The shops are supplied from the outside, resulting in many unattractive rear entrances. There is little connection with the residential areas that have grown up around the shopping center. By adding housing to the plan, the development will reconnect with the surrounding area. Some of the housing will be positioned above the shops, and some will have front doors facing the street. These new frontages will enhance public safety, while the logistics will disappear from view. The shopping center will be clearly visible with a new entrance to Soomerwegh, the access road to the village. A new square will be added here, creating a pleasant atmosphere. By designing the entrance areas of the shopping center as new squares, the connection with the surrounding area will be strengthened. Geesterduin's stony surroundings will become greener. The plan will be nature-inclusive, providing space for flora and fauna through the addition of roof gardens, vertical greenery, and green landscaping in the squares. The entire plan will be made sustainable, with the preservation of the existing shopping center as a starting point.
In close consultation with the municipality of Leiden, VVKH has developed an urban development plan for the redevelopment of two office buildings on Verbeekstraat in Leiden. What is currently a densely populated area dominated by cars will soon become a vibrant, green, and people-friendly residential area. In line with the municipality's high-rise vision, several buildings will be added along Plesmanlaan, creating a new cityscape along this access road to the city. Together with the developments at the Bio Science Campus on the opposite side of the road, this will create a new and innovative urban district.
