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Residential

MVRDV transform Hertzberger’s Centraal Beheer building into residential district in Apeldoorn, Netherlands

The icon of structuralism is considered by some to be a high point of the design movement

by Séan Thurgood 24 November 2022

Originally designed as an office building for an insurance company in 1972, the structure is seeing new life as it is reconstructed into a sustainable green neighbourhood. Herman Hertzberger’s office AHH are consulting on the project to ensure that the structure is respectfully preserved and echoes the original design principles. 

The building consists of four quadrants divided by two paths that form a central social heart for the space. The process is adjusted and repeated using the basic element, a 9m cube, to create a distinctive form for the interior. The central ‘streets’ of the building is a place for locals to meet and encourages connection and integration with the city and station which continues Hertzberger’s original design philosophy.

Most of the original structure will be reused and refinished with sustainable materials while ensuring that the complete project is an attractive destination for the public to visit. The new buildings will utilise the 9m grid with built in wood to help provide them with a new identity. The landscape will contain a wilder infill with trees, grasses and water while remaining flexible for future amenities such as play and sports facilities to be added. A study is currently underway to determine which tree species will encourage biodiversity within the area.

It's a super cool assignment. Herman Hertzberger is an important role model for me. His social agenda makes him an inspiring architect to me, and I feel a kinship with him; just as Herman launched a totally new office landscape in the early seventies, MVRDV did the same in the early nineties with the Villa VPRO. We toured the client through the Central Beheer building and it opened their minds; it became an inspiration for our own work.

Winy Maas, founding partner, MVRDV

As part of a larger three-hectare site transformation within the area, the priority was to ensure that a variety of housing could be created that used as much of the original structure as possible. The current design should produce 650 - 800 green homes, further reducing the carbon footprint due to the use of the existing structure.

MVRDV
Netherlands

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