“Buildings are not disposable products”, according to the website of  diederendirrix Architecture & Urban Development. Transformation is one of the specialties of diederendirrix. Among other things, they were responsible for the rapid transformation of the former Philips Lighting headquarters to over 600 lofts and apartments. Annually, diederendrix is ​​involved in around twenty to thirty transformation projects. BouwKennis interviewed Paul Diederen, partner at the architectural firm and professor of Transformational Design at the Eindhoven University of Technology.

Read the full article in BouwKennis

Commissioned by the municipality of Utrecht, Heijmans is developing and realising 125 houses next to the central shopping zone in Leidsche Rijn Centrum. The project has a total value of more than 40 million euros. Heijmans was awarded the contract based on the plan’s high quality and sustainability. It involves city dwellings and apartments in a (semi-)closed building block. Construction will start in the middle of 2018 after the development phase; completion is expected about two years later.

The characteristic design, which includes ascending terraces embracing two interior gardens, was accomplished by a design team led by Diederendirrix, together with Bedaux de Brouwer architects and HilberinkBosch architects. Landscape Interventions (LINT) is responsible for the interior gardens’ design. The urban development plan is by Jo Coenen Architects & Urbanists.

From almost 200 entries, NEZZT has been nominated for a Creative Heroes Award in the category Architecture / Collaboration. The awards will be granted during a festive evening in Amsterdam on Thursday night 29 June.

Creative Heroes Award
The Creative Heroes Award was initiated by Guus van Maarschalkerweerd (DesignConnector) and Jeroen van Oostveen (Conseptory). The award’s aim is to provide entrepreneurs and designers in the Netherlands with a national platform which contributes to the success and the impact of the creative sector. The Creative Heroes Award is awarded every two years and is specifically aimed at creative people developing concepts and designs for spatial use.

Read the full press release or visit www.creativeheroes.com

 

There is a characteristic listed building by Gerrit Rietveld on the outskirts of Bergeijk, weaving mill De Ploeg. Exhibition material has been manufactured inside the mill since the beginning of the year. The factory has been adapted accordingly, respecting its open halls. The timing couldn’t have been better. The new life of weaving mill De Ploeg started in Bergeijk on the first day of the year in which the Netherlands is celebrating in big style the founding of De Stijl. The factory building’s creator is the architect Gerrit Rietveld, one of the most famous members of the avant-garde artistic movement De Stijl.

It was possible to convert De Ploeg within a period of 18 months, thanks to the new owner’s drive and the support of – amongst others – the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed [Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands]. As is often the case with industrial buildings, many small and bigger modifications were done after its opening in 1958. However, these did not affect the building’s special value in terms of cultural heritage, therefore allowing De Ploeg to become a listed building in 2010. By that time, the building had not been in use for three years. After some failed attempts to find a new owner, Bruns BV became the factory’s enthusiastic owner in 2015.

Read the full article in Een utopisch experiment van weldadigheid by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed

 

On 8 May, Secretary of State Van Rijn announced the winners of the WHO CARES competition, a design competition for new ways of housing and health care. The jury, led by Rijksbouwmeester [Chief Government Architect for the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment] Floris Alkemade, received 174 entries and selected for 4 locations 5 teams each. These 20 teams can further elaborate their visions in the second round. Diederendirrix is one of the 5 winners of the Rotterdam location.

The jury’s comments on Diederendirrix’ entry: “One of the visions in which the closed building blocks of Carnisse area are broken through, a proposal rich in ideas for interior as well as outside spaces and which engages the street.”

Read the full press release or visit www.prijsvraagwhocares.nl

 

 

De Ploeg, the beautiful industrial heritage of factory building and park in Bergeijk in Noord-Brabant province, is given new life after major renovations. The unique complex, where characteristic fabrics for curtains, furniture and clothes used to be woven, is in use again and opened to the public in April 2017.

Read the full article in Monumentaal

This article was taken from national magazine MONUMENTAAL www.monumentaal.com

 

Next year, Onyx – a new 84-metre-high residential tower – will be built on the Mathildelaan in Eindhoven. There will be 134 homes in the building. The top layers are reserved for a penthouse with pool measuring almost 1,000 square metres. The construction of Onyx fits in with the plans of the City of Eindhoven for densification and building upwards. “In its form and materials, Onyx refers to the place’s past as well as future,” architect Paul Diederen explains. ”The tower marks the start of a new generation high-rise buildings for the densification task of the City of Eindhoven.”

Read the full article on the Vastgoedjournaal

Hockey club Oranje Rood now has a characteristic clubhouse. From a distance, the cool-looking triangular building with huge canopy looks like a sleek modern concrete pavilion. Taking a closer look, it is clear that the outside mainly consists of WaxedWood (pine) with a light grey finish.

Read the full article in het Houtblad

Contractor City Pads announced this morning that the middle of three Marconi Towers in Rotterdam-West is converted into a residential tower, designed by diederendirrix. It will contain 420 rental properties, apartments measuring 60 square metres, for example intended for expats or starters on the housing market. In the building will also be a caretaker present, ‘the James’. “James is comparable to a butler service or to the porter of a hotel.” The transformation will be finished by the middle of 2018. The second vacant Marconi Tower will possibly also be bought and transformed. This decision will be made within a few days, according to the developer.

The Rotterdam
Two of the three Marconi Towers have been vacant since 2014, when the council moved its services to the building The Rotterdam on the Kop van Zuid. This freed up some 60,000 square metres on the Marconiplein. One of the three towers was already renamed the Rotterdam Science Tower, which accommodates companies in the medical field. This building remains an office building.

Read the full article in the AD

Photo Jan Sluijter