Sports centre Activum in the Bentinckspark in Hoogeveen will open soon. Newspaper Dagblad van het Noorden already took a look at the complex that cost just below 10 million euro. You can’t miss the youngest acquisition in the renovated sports heart of Hoogeveen, but you can miss its name. You’ll have to search for the designation ‘Activum’ on the big building, but on closer inspection you’ll see that the winning entry of a resident has been milled into the side.

Costs

The modern complex measuring about 6,900 square meters was built on hundreds of piles. “Yes, it was quite something”, municipal project leader Henk Koster says. “Just before it all started here in June 2015, there were problems with the piles in centre project De Kaap.” In the end, all piles were replaced there, because many piles were affected by the groundwater. “In consultation with the contractor, we chose for another type of concrete and for better pre-stressing of concrete.”

To keep the costs at 9.8 million euro (exclusive paving), some cut-backs were made in the execution. “This doesn’t apply to the sports centre’s floors, stands and the LED lighting”, alderman Gert Vos clarifies. The heart of the building is the impressive top-class sports hall with extension stands, named Het Station. “I already call it the Euroborg (stadium FC Groningen, editor’s note). They also have a passage behind the stalls there.”

Read the full article in Dagblad van het Noorden

For diederendirrix architecture & urban development, it is all about generating quality when transforming existing buildings: for the building itself, for its users and for the environment.

Diederendirrix has offices in Eindhoven and Rotterdam, and is owned by Paul Diederen and Bert Dirrix. In addition, Diederen works two days a week as Professor of Transformational Design at the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU), and he is a member of the Design & Monuments Advisory Committee of the Rotterdam planning authority. Dirrix has recently also started working as architect for Bureau Spoorbouwmeester, an independent advisory body for design projects within the Dutch rail sector. “Bert Dirrix and I have been working together for a long time”, Diederen says. “In addition to diederendirrix, we also run BureauEAU: engineering, advice and construction supervision for our own design agency and for external parties, such as property developers and building contractors. With this agency, we now take care of – among other things – the engineering and the construction supervision for the main building at the TU campus in Eindhoven.

We’ve also recently started an office in Rotterdam, which is more focused on design-based research and design competitions. We want to build, we want to be smart architects, not makers of icons. For us, a building has to suit its location, and suit its user.”

Roots in the city
Diederendirrix is known for its transformation projects. One of the most famous one is the ‘Witte Dame’, a landmark building in Eindhoven and home to The Design Academy. This former Philips factory was transformed into a centre for design and culture in 1998, making it one of the first transformation projects in the Netherlands. “Eindhoven has great transformation potential, because there are many old factories in the centre. Transforming existing buildings is particularly important, as the genius loci is always strongly present in this sort of buildings. The history of a place and what it means for the inhabitants adds an extra dimension. Even unaesthetic buildings have their roots in the city, their own place and significance. Besides, old buildings often have a beautiful construction and a special materiality. Whether it’s concrete or concrete gravel, which can also obtain its own quality.”

Read the full article in PI project & interieur

Amid great public interest, Minister Henk Kamp for Economic Affairs opened the Brightlands Smart Services Campus in Heerlen in the company of, among others, Prins Constantijn as special envoy for StartupDelta.

The campus should grow into a breeding ground for companies and training colleges which focus on new forms of corporate service and ICT, particularly where data analyses can contribute to solving economic and social issues.

Apart from the initiators – the Province of Limburg, pension provider APG and Maastricht University – there are already numerous partners, such as Accenture, Conclusion and the Business Intelligence & Smart Services (BISS) institute. During the opening ceremony on 12 September new collaborating parties were announced, such as CBS, KPN and American Bank BNY Mellon.

Watch the video of the opening

 

 

Diederendirrix has designed a new clubhouse for hockey club Oranje-Rood. The functional building is eye-catching because of its large canopy, of which the structure extends from the outside into the inside.

A new hockey club calls for a new clubhouse. Hockey club Oranje-Rood originated from a merger between the successful top-class sports club Oranje-Zwart – first division champions for the last three years – and recreational sports club EMHC. Its new pavilion was festively opened on 3 September.

High-quality view
The triangular building is fitted in on a wedge-shaped open area between the hockey fields. The pavilion is located on a plinth consisting of an overgrown slope on one side and a stand with 1600 seats on the other side. There are comfortable changing rooms and a physiotherapy room in the plinth, which meet the requirements of a top-class sport accommodation, according to diederendirrix. On the raised level the luxurious canteen is located. From the canteen and the terrace you can watch the matches on all of the club’s eight hockey fields. There is room for a business club on the pavilion’s level.

Read the full article on Architectenweb

The brand-new clubhouse of the Eindhoven hockey club Oranje-Rood will be festively opened this weekend. There will be a spectacular opening act on Saturday afternoon around 4.30pm.

The largest clubhouse of the Netherlands? No, this is not what the new accommodation of fusion club Oranje-Rood is. “We aren’t the country’s largest club either. But with our 2500 members we do belong in the top three”, Frans van Duivenboden says. The president of Oranje-Rood likes to take people on a tour through the new complex, which is already called ‘the ship’ because of its outward appearance. “So it’s not the largest clubhouse. But it’s definitely the coolest”, he repeatedly says.

Stand
And the president could be right. If only because of its enormous bar, its splendid view on both sides over the eight hockey fields that used to be belong to EMHC and Oranje Zwart, and its stand with 1600 seats. The club house will be festively opened this weekend, a week before the competition starts. The president promises that there will be a ‘spectacular opening act’ with a lot of noise, fire, and light on Saturday afternoon from around 4.30pm. Members as well as former members and other interested parties are welcome. Tomorrow there will be – among other things – a tournament for teams consisting of family and friends.

Read the full article in the Eindhovens Dagblad

Diederendirrix architecture & urban development has transformed the former Philips Lighting head office on the outskirts of the city centre into a residential building consisting of 616 lofts and penthouses. With its windows that slide vertically, each loft can be turned into a large loggia.

When transforming the former Philips Lighting head office, Diederendirrix chose to keep the structure of the building and the concrete staircases, but completely rebuilt the façades. The three wings of the office building measuring 43,000 square meters are filled with lofts and penthouses for mostly single starters and expats households. A supermarket, various food and drink establishments and shops, a fitness studio, and offices are located on the ground floor.

Read the full article on Architectenweb

You will only find decision-makers from the Dutch office market on the stage of the Kantorencongres 2016 [conference on Dutch office buildings 2016]. They put forward their unique view on this market’s future, which is showing its first sign of recovery in years.

Last year, the sale and leasing of office premises increased for the first time, while the average prices went up. In short, the Dutch office market is picking up. There is business in the offices again. Therefore, it is time for an update on the state of affairs.

The Kantorencongres 2016 is a quality seminar with plenty of interesting speakers.

Diederendirrix gives you the latest

Paul Diederen, partner Diederendirrix architecture & urban development and Professor of Transformational Design TU/e, will be one of the speakers at the conference. He will discuss the opportunities of and factors for success in transformation and he will explain the possibilities of construction of new buildings. What are the implications for your organisation? And what does this mean for you as a person?

Where and when?

Tuesday 20 September 2016 in Novotel Amsterdam City, Europaboulevard 10, Amsterdam

View the full program and sign up via Vastgoedjournaal

Sports centre Het Activum is virtually ready. The final touches are being done at present. Sports clubs can already use the complex in September. The official opening will take place on 7 and 8 October.

New Bentickspark almost ready

The opening of Het Activum marks the near-completion of the new Bentinckspark. The sports centre is the heart of the park. Het Activum consists of two sports halls and a gym; a top-class sports hall measuring 56 by 28 meters and a height of 9 meters, a sports hall measuring 44 by 24 meters and a height of 7 meters, and a gym measuring 14 by 22 meters and a height of 5.5 meters.

2100 seats in the stands

A walkway round the two sports halls and gym will be located on the first floor, so that the audience has a good view of the sportsmen and women. The top-class sports hall has 1100 fixed seats in the stands. The capacity can be extended to 2100, allowing for large-scale events to take place. There will be twelve changing rooms and a joint sports bar for the users of the athletics track and Het Activum. The north side of het Activum can be expanded with units for paramedics and other functions on the interface of education, sports, exercise and health. In addition, Het Activum also has to contribute to the municipal sustainability ambitions. Thus, the building ‘without gas’ is connected to the Thermal Energy Storage for its heat supply and is fed by the mains water of the WMD. In the future, electric power will be generated by solar panels installed on the roof of het Activum.

Read the full article in the Hoogeveense Courant

 

They somewhat go against the flow, the architects of diederendirrix from Eindhoven. At least, when other parties in the construction process say that something is impossible – while the architect firm is trying to push the boundaries of material use and façade character – the research will be shifted up a gear in order to get widespread approval. “Of course, provided that everything in terms of technology, cost and solution for the client is realistic both now and in the future,” architect Timo Keulen says. “Various examples of precast concrete show that our search leads to surprising façades which make those same parties extremely enthusiastic.”

“Isn’t it beautiful when you can make the façades of a building special with a material? When you can add a sort of layer that creates expressiveness?” Therefore, Timo Keulen and his fellow architects try to retrieve power of expression and tactility from a material, whether it is wood, metal, concrete or another façade material. “Concrete often gives extra satisfaction and adds an extra element of surprise, because in a façade it’s generally seen as bare, meagre and even somewhat shabby. Looking at the way concrete as a material has evolved in recent years and how you can create special surfaces with photo prints, relief, pattern imprinting mats and beautiful refinements such as shining and polishing – you can even add a sort of patina to a concrete layer and make it future-proof – this material is, in my view, ideally suited for architectural expression.”

Read the full article in B:ton

The church, chapel and the former boarding school for boys and grammar school of Mariënhage will be repurposed. DELA creates a contemporary place here. Repurposing design by diederendirrix and architecten-en-en.

Watch the short film of the Province of Noord-Brabant