KVL terrein

Oisterwijk
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Adjacent to the centre of Oisterwijk, on the north side of the railway, the Koninklijke Verenigde Leder (KVL) industrial factory complex is redeveloped into a unique inner city residential area. In 2000, the largest tannery in Europe closed its doors and an extensive building complex on an 11 hectare site came to stand empty. Many people from Oisterwijk worked at KVL and this connects the site not just spatially, but also emotionally, to the community of Oisterwijk. The existing (national) monument buildings, with 26,000 m2 floor surface, date from the beginning of the 20th century and are registered in the Urban Development Plan as a valuable heritage building group. We carefully respected both the individual and the spatial characteristics of these monuments and accommodated complex limiting conditions such as the proximity of the railway, the surrounding industry and the ground pollution. The challenge is to find a meaningful infill for the site program. A mixture of new users, arising from a blend of catering, culture, health and social care, residential and retail business breathe new life into KVL and guarantee that once again this exceptional old factory site has social meaning.