The monastery complex Mariënhage in the centre of Eindhoven will be repurposed. Diederendirrix and Architecten|en|en transform the buildings; Buro Lubbers is responsible for the urban development integration and layout of the outdoor area.

The Paterskerk, the former Augustinianum and the Studentenkapel will be redeveloped for public duties, while preserving their cultural and historical value. The monastery – in which the priests of the Order of Augustinians are still living at present – is in good condition, but other buildings are in urgent need of renovation.

Public facilities
The Augustinians – together with the city of Eindhoven – started looking for a party that wants to take care of the monastery complex and that wants to keep it a place ‘to meet, connect and immerse oneself’. Funeral cooperation DELA signed up as a developer.

DELA takes over the area with its accompanying buildings from the Order of Augustinians and the local council. The cooperation will have the existing buildings and the Paterskerk restored and will make them more accessible. The plan is to have a conference space, a ceremony house and ‘facilities to meet and stay overnight’, according to DELA. Diederendirrix architects and Architecten en|en will undertake the transformation of the buildings.

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Next year, the Groene Toren on the Vestdijk in Eindhoven will accommodate a NH hotel with 132 rooms. Developers Foolen en Reijs also build 112 apartments in the tower.

Eindhoven will boast one more hotel, and not just another hotel. A luxurious branch of NH Hotels will open in the Groene Toren on the Vestdijk mid-2017. The guests of the 132 rooms also have five congress rooms, a restaurant on the thirteenth and a bar on the top, fourteenth floor at their disposal. It is the fourth Dutch four-star or five-star Collection hotel in the expensive segment.

According to general manager Max Hermers of ‘opposite neighbour’ Hampshire Hotel – Crown Eindhoven and the Holiday Inn, the new luxury hotel has an ‘added value’ for the city. “This is good for the city as it’s a different hotel from the ones we already had,” said Hermers, who is also chairman of the Eindhovens Hoteliersoverleg, the association for hoteliers consultation in Eindhoven.

Meanwhile, the renovation of the Groene Toren has been started by Stam + De Koning. In diederendirrix’ design the tower remains green with a lot of glass. There will be a large digital screen for advertising and information on the Dommelstraat side. The catering establishments on the ground floor will stay where they are.

Read the article in the Eindhovens Dagblad

The Paterskerk, the former Augustinianum and the Studentenkapel in the centre of Eindhoven get a new function. The repurposing provides a new ceremony house, meeting places and sleeping facilities. A collaboration of four parties should preserve the cultural and historical value of the Mariënhage area while creating a place to meet, connect and immerse oneself.

The monks of the Order of Augustinian live in the Mariënhage monastery. Due to the aging population, their strength decreases while the need for care increases. In addition, a renovation of the Paterskerk in particular is desperately needed. Therefore, the priests – along with the city of Eindhoven – started looking for a party that can take the care of this special place upon itself.

This has resulted in a collaboration with DELA. They take over Mariënhage from the Order of Augustinian and the city of Eindhoven and they will have the buildings restored to make them available again to the public. Besides this, DELA realises a ceremonial house and facilities so it is possible to meet and stay overnight at the special place. The Province of Noord-Brabant also contributes to the project in the form of a financial contribution.

Design: diederendirrix and architecten-en-en

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The PROVADA was festively opened by Jan-Peter Balkenende this morning. At the exhibition – where the main focus is building traditionally – NEZZT comes up with a new vision. A vision in which vacancy is a choice. The LEEGSTAND (vacancy) is a unique stand and can be interpreted in two ways. The stand is totally empty, but besides it exposes the big fear of the real estate world: vacancy. Using virtual reality glasses, visitors step into the world of NEZZT, a world in which vacancy is a choice. The NEZZT concept was developed and designed in collaboration with Diederendirrix Architecture & Urban Development from Eindhoven.

Discover the unprecedented possibilities of this new housing concept at PROVADA in the next days. Hall 11, stand 50.

Read more about NEZZT

To successfully transform existing properties, architects not only need to have knowledge of architecture and construction techniques, but also of the economy. Architect Paul Diederen, who was appointed Professor of Transformational Design at Eindhoven University of Technology last month, states this.

During the opening of the Real Estate Market Transformatieplein at the Real Estate Meeting Point Provada, Diederen outlines what can be improved to enhance the transformation process. He himself, as part of architect firm Diederendirrix, has won his spurs in transformation: his firm transformed several buildings in Eindhoven area, such as De Witte Dame, a former Philips factory that was repurposed as a library and a museum of architecture. At this moment they are still working on the transformation of another part of the 1970s Philips heritage – the former Philips Lighting head office, which is converted into 600 lofts.

According to Diederen, important lessons can be learnt. “Too often, the three players in transformation – government, market and research institutes – are totally separate from each other. But for a project to be successful it’s important that there is better cooperation.” This certainly also applies to his own profession, he acknowledges. “It may not sound sexy, but it’s really necessary that architects understand the economics behind a building. And with this I mean that they should know the big picture. No, architects must really know the process. So what’s the value of a building? What are the investment costs? What life span are we talking? We need a Smart Architect, who at an earlier stage has insight into a project’s success chances. After all, not every building can be transformed.”

Read the full article on deArchitect

 

Although architect firm Diederendirrix can serve the whole of the Netherlands from Eindhoven, Bert Dirrix (61) still chose to open an office in Rotterdam. The entrepreneur explains why.

1. The profession changed
   “Our profession has changed since the crisis. Previously, architects were responsible for the entire construction process, now we’re entrepreneurs who bring parties together. We have to be able to flexibly switch between, for example, landscapers, economists and housing providers. This requires market research and expansion. Therefore, we’ve been thinking about a second office for years. For this purpose we went on a business trip to China, but the culture is too far removed from us.”
2. Transformation
   “We thought of Rotterdam, because the city is going through a similar transformation as Eindhoven. There are also a lot of existing buildings that will be repurposed and we focus on these. There’s also a practical reason: business developer Theo Hauben and architect Tomas Dirrix of Diederendirrix live in Rotterdam. They’ve already built up a network of young entrepreneurs, designers and other creative people. We as a company get new energy from this.”
3. Experimental
   “Our new office is intended for experimentation, exploration and innovation. We’re going to immerse ourselves in constructional issues for which we hardly have time at the moment. The new world demands new solutions. We want to discover what’s going on out there and we’re open to everything.”

Read the article on deOndernemer

 

Paul Diederen, the newly appointed Professor of Transformational Design at Eindhoven University, opens the Transformation Square at Provada.

Prof. P.J.R. Diederen was born in Didam, the Netherlands, on 23 January 1959. He studied architecture at the Technical University in Eindhoven, where he graduated in 1986. In the same year he and his classmate Michel Schutgens started an architecture firm in Eindhoven. Together with Bert Dirrix he founded Diederendirrix Van Wylick Architects in 1999, which has been called diederendirrix architecture & urban design since 2005. The firm is especially active in the Netherlands and has received numerous nominations and awards for its new construction, renovation, and urban development projects.

Diederen performs the opening ceremony with Harm Tilman, chief editor of the Architect on Tuesday 7 June at 10:30 am. The Transformation Square is located in hall 9, stand 11 in the RAI.

The Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) has appointed engineer Paul Diederen as Professor of Transformational Design. He will take up his post at the Unit Architectural Urban Design & Engineering of the Department of Built Environment as of the 1st of June 2016. Paul Diederen specialises in the transformation of existing property. The appointment as professor is for two days a week. He will also continue working as a partner in diederendirrix architecture and urban design in Eindhoven and Rotterdam.

Prof. E.S.M. (Elphi) Nelissen (Dean of the Department of Built Environment): “Because of his years of experience as an architect, Paul Diederen is right at the heart of real-life practice. As a Professor of Transformational Design, he will be dealing with the relationship between current design practice and education. More specifically, he will focus on
re-evaluation of buildings’ usability in cities after World War II.”

Sustainable improvement of the city
Postwar cities do not always have an obvious historical value, like buildings from earlier dates do. As 69% of the buildings in the cities was erected after 1944 – the peak between 1971 and 2000 – it is urgently needed to focus on exactly these relatively young buildings.

Economic and social changes leave many buildings empty or call for a different purpose for buildings. With programmed adjustments, architectural improvements and good urban development foundations, the city can be carefully and sustainably improved. Collaboration with the market and the public sector is vital. This calls for a different way of teaching and doing research.

Paul Diederen: ”When transforming the existing city, feasibility – and not manipulability – is essential and with that, knowledge of the context, the program, the process and the revenue models of the client and user. I look forward to handing on this knowledge and expertise to a new generation of architects.”

Read the press release: Paul Diederen appointed professor at the Eindhoven University of Technology

 

As from May, the renovation work of the Groene Toren in Eindhoven will be visible on the outside. The striking building on the Vestdijk is converted into half hotel, half apartments. The façade on the Dommelstraat gets a new, large digital screen which extends from top to bottom. A third party will display Eindhoven promotion and advertising on this screen. Currently, the property is being emptied inside. The renovation will convert the former office building into a hotel with 132 rooms and 100 apartments.

Read the article in the Eindhovens Dagblad

Construction of the second floor of Blocks 61 and 63 along the tracks at Strijp-S in Eindhoven has just begun. However, there is such great interest in these dwellings that developer SDK Real Estate (Stam en de Koning) continues while at it. The daughter company of Volker Wessels hopes to begin the construction of Block 59 – between the blocks under construction and the parking garage on the Philitelaan – around the construction industry summer holidays. The details are still being discussed with the Design & Monuments Advisory Committee of the Eindhoven planning authority, which must approve the design of Timo Keulen (diederendirrix). Thereafter, the license can be granted.

Read the article in the Eindhoven Dagblad