Community Building Woensel-West

Crowning growth

After two decades of neighbourhood renewal in Woensel-West, the end is in sight. The new district building is the final piece of the project. In 2003, NEXT architects started researching improvements for Woensel, a neighbourhood whose image at the time was linked to crime and vandalism. The intention to initiate a transformation with stated in the urban development vision with the title ‘tastes differ’. Edisonstraat remained the main street crossing through the neighbourhood, but over the past 18 years, various colourful housing blocks have been added alongside it.

Info
Team
Collaborators

Client

Stichting Trudo woningcorporatie en Dienst Stedelijke Ontwikkeling en Beheer Eindhoven

Type

Multifunctional Cultural building, Appartments

Location

Eindhoven, NL

Bart Reuser, Marijn Schenk, Michel Schreinemachers with Mireia Martin, Marcel Geerdink, Jouke Sieswerda, Karolina Bihun, Nick Vullings

Hurks

Exploring the open building

The multifunctional cultural centre in Eindhoven represents a new focal point for the district. The new neighbourhood building, with its pronounced sculptural design and striking colour, has been given a prominent place at the head of Edisonstraat. The all-sided building cherishes the colourful district, thanks to its outspoken design with the crowning of the corners, the diversity in the different layers, and the characteristic orange facade.

Connecting the neighbourhood to the city

As the final piece of the renewal project, Woensel deserves a building that symbolizes the elevation of the now proud district. The Waaggebouw (weigh house) has been taken as a historical reference, because of its central position on a square and the meaning and importance that it gives to the location. With an open plinth facing the neighbourhood, the building feels like a continuation of its surroundings and an inviting living room for neighbourhood activities. It will be the place where all residents can go with their questions or for development or conviviality. The meeting centre is organized in a plinth that matches the local scale of the street.

Creating a new local identity

The site-specific design intends to complement the different characteristics of Woensel, such as the function, use, density, and architectural styles. The layered construction building up to the tower provides different orientations and relationships with the adjacent outdoor spaces. This layering is divided into four parts: the ground floor houses the neighbourhood meeting centre and the various addresses on the squares, the plinth apartments on the first floor are located in the square facades, the rooftop terrace provides a collective outdoor space for the apartment on the upper floors, and from the top of the tower there is a spectacular view over the city of Eindhoven.

The design is flexible in use: the residential apartments can be realized in various layouts and the space is adaptable for other functions in the future. The combination of the central core with the omnidirectional facade offers different possibilities for interior arrangements. The Woenselse Waag is the final piece of the developments in the district but at the same time the starting point of lively progress.