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Utrecht, NL

De Kwekerij phase 2

On the former KPN site in the east of Utrecht, our client Jebber develops a campus called ‘De Kwekerij.’ Currently, the first phase of the project containing student houses is under construction. Phase II contains housing units for young starters combined with several supporting facilities for this target group, and creative entrepreneurs. The design of Arons & Gelauff contains 244 compact apartments, a bicycle workshop, a café, a restaurant, a small exposition space, an office for the caretaker and several communal spaces for the inhabitants.

The lay-out of De Kwekerij is a campus with a central public area. On the southern part of the campus a small pond characterizes the public area. This pond is realized in a former underground communications bunker. The top half of the bunker will be removed, and the bottom half will be filled with water. Because of this, the old lay-out and history of the bunker will be exposed to the public. On top of the former rooms, the landscape architect TLU, designed a diverse landscape of greenery, terraces and water parties. The bunker also functions as a water retention basin for De Kwekerij area, thereby making the project ‘rainproof.’

The design includes six towers. At first sight, the six towers look the same based on the shape of the building and the façade design. But when you look closer, the subtle differences in colour and façade lay-out become more visible. A rhythm composed by the seasons, defines the changing colours of the surrounding landscape, which is designed by TLU. These colours are translated into a colour scheme of the façade, giving each tower its own identity. The green facades strengthen the green character of the campus. The green landscape of the campus, the public functions in the plinth, and the towers and shape of the faces; shape a cohesive and lively residential area.

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