V8 Architects

Burgemeester Hoffmanhof

Noordereiland has always been an island for people in passing. It used to be a home port for passing seamen and is now part of a rapidly growing international expat community. In this design, 24 compact apartments create a shared courtyard. This is a very efficient use of the site with a single type of dwelling for intensive users of the city. Choosing a specific target group at an early stage enabled a plan to be developed that seamlessly fits between the surrounding buildings.

Light and air

The middle section of Noordereiland is an urban, but also extremely relaxed residential environment. Long residential blocks that keep the wind at bay and narrow tree-lined streets such as Burgermeester Hoffmanlaan. Repairing an existing urban design ‘gap’ in this street with a U-shaped block of buildings creates a pleasant living environment around a shared courtyard. The shape of the block made it possible to create a large number of apartments on a limited surface area, while retaining a certain airiness. The Hoffmanhof reinforces the distinct character of Noordereiland by adding a new living environment.

Brick

The facade shows itself to be a rational translation of the underlying functions. However, this rationality does not create a bleak look. To the contrary, subtle variations in the joint depths and colour tones of the masonry turn the brick facade into a soft surface. The steel horizontal lines evoke the string courses of the typical building style on Noordereiland in the early 20th century. They continue around the corner and thus extend the street pattern.

Noise barrier for the neighbourhood

The function rooms in the Hulstkamp Building have been a source of noise nuisance in the neighbourhood for years. The new apartment block resolves this by being positioned as a barrier between the noise source and the opposite facades. The apartments in the new buildings have an internal noise barrier in the form of a partly enclosed walkway. The orientation of the residential functions on the side of the courtyard and the service functions on the gallery side enables the potential of this complicated location to be fully exploited.