Thomas A. Kempis

Nieuw-West was laid out according to the General Extension Plan (AUP) of 1934 by Jakoba Mulder and Cornelis van Eesteren, built on a single principle: light, air and space. Open building blocks, generous greenery in between, daylight from multiple sides: an urban plan that still defines the western garden cities today. Thomas A. Kempis stands in the middle of that plan and adds a new chapter to it. Where the AUP pursued these ideals horizontally, the complex translates them into height. It does not sit at an edge but at the heart of the neighbourhood, and is therefore designed to be all-sided: no front or back, but oriented towards its surroundings on every side.

Thomas A. Kempis will become a distinctive landmark in the area, one that opens up in every direction. At the foot of the tower, an open and welcoming corner marks the entrance, at the point where the complex meets the street. From this corner, a transparent green zone with connecting bridges links the tower to the lower volume, binding the two parts into a single whole. Inside, the collective living galleries on the south side carry that openness through. Widened into places to stay rather than merely to pass, they are more than circulation: this is where residents meet one another day to day.

Textures, colours and materials are drawn from the immediate surroundings and, together with the green façades, establish a strong connection between the building and the neighbourhood. Washing out the aggregate in the concrete gives the volume a robust texture and colour inherent to the material itself, with a play of light and shadow that shifts throughout the day. The complex is built from cleverly stacked prefabricated sandwich panels, resulting in a sustainable and manageable construction process.