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Netherlands: Waalpanorama (aA)

Ronald

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Project website on aA, with ground level renderings:

http://www.architectsalliance.com/portfolio/in-progress/four-seasons

AoD

Very interesting website.
They also have a project in The Netherlands:

aA is creating a new community in Nijmegen, a 2,000 year old Dutch city on the banks of the Waal River. Rail lands on the city’s waterfront will be the site of Waalpanorama, a mixed-use development combining high- and low-rise housing with commercial and retail development.

Waalpanorama is composed of three elements. A linear park marked by gateways at either end creates a new western entrance into the city. A multi-use podium with 50 residential units provides animation and intensity at a pedestrian-friendly scale. A public parking garage concealed inside the podium has a landscaped roof that reads as an extension of the new park, and creates a green terrace overlooking the Waal. Rising from the podium at the north end of the site, a 166-unit residential tower rises like the spire of a medieval cathedral, and marks the meeting point of the old city and new community.

I think this development will really stand out in the city, as it currently hasn't got any significant highrises. Plus, the design is really beautiful IMO:



 
Striking tower, plus some pretty foxy renderbabes in that town.
 
Yeah, looks like a very nice rendertower. One wonders if it is being marketed exclusively towards renderbabes.
 
That is an interesting project. I agree, the tower is very nice looking.

The rendering below is from aA's Clear Spirit project in Toronto but as soon as I saw it the first thing crossed my mind was that it reminded me very much of something you might see in a Dutch city. The light pillars used to support the towers overhand, the podiums facade with the large, somewhat random windows, as well as the scale of the space it creates. Actually, for some reason, I keep thinking I may have seen something like this in the Netherlands somewhere, but I cannot think of where.

distillery-district_4.jpg


It is still nice to see a bit of Dutch influence in Canadian architecture and planning. While I wouldn't want all aspects to be simply be imported a lot of the design sensibilities of buildings and cities actually seem to translate well to Canadian cities.

And slightly off topic but still staying with the Netherlands perhaps you have some information on where these projects are located. I found these pictures a few years ago (where I don't remember) and have always wondered. I don't think I have ever seen anything else quite like them. The last picture I am sure is a rendering in the foreground but the rest appear to be actually built (and sorry for the smallish size).

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That Clear Spirit project in Toronto looks very nice.
Anarcho, it also reminds me of Dutch architecture, especially the pillars that support the tower. We see that a lot here in Rotterdam.
You say that you believe that you've seen a similar design in the Netherlands. Just maybe, that could have been the Piazza Centre in the city of Eindhoven, which you have also visited last October. Ironically, the Piazza centre was designed by Italian architect Massimiliano Fuksas.

(photo by Effes @ Holland Skyscraper Forum)
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(photo by Ralphkke @ Holland Skyscraper Forum)
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Those pictures you found a few years ago were taken in Den Bosch in Holland's easy-going bourgondic south. It is also my old hometown, I've lived there for 3 years :D

It is the 'Country Estate' of Haverlij. In the northwest of Den Bosch, nine castles will be built on the estate. 1000 'castle homes' and apartments will be built.
The idea was that one could live luxuriously in a castle of the 21st century.
The total plan encompassed 25 hectares, 20 of which will be occupied by the castles and on 65 hectares a golf course will be built. Each castle will get its own character, fine-tuned to be integrated as good as it could be with the adjacent landscape.
Urban designer Sjoerd Soeters and landschape architect Paul van Beek supervised the project.

Five castles are already completed and are now inhabited.

This castle, Velderwoude, was designed by Belgian architect Jo Crépain:
h3-17.jpg


This one, Zwaenenstede, was designed by Italian architect Adolfo Natalini.
It has been inhabited since 2001.
h2-15.jpg

zwaenenstede.jpg


Wuyvenhaerd has been designed by Dutch architects Lafour & Wijk and has been inhabited since 2002.
h3-16.jpg


Leliënhuyze was designed by the supervisor Sjoerd Soeters.
It is surrounded by water.
foto2.jpg

lelienhuyze2.jpg


The last one was designed by Michael Graves from New York.
holterveste1.jpg


More info is available at http://www.haverleij.nl/index_1.htm, but that website is in Dutch though.
There's more pics at the website of the municipality of Den Bosch (btw, the formal name of the town is 's Hertogenbosch).
http://www.denbosch.nl/content.cfm?contentid=16EFC726-8021-0F65-0141689E0E64F8F2
 
Your right...it does remind me of Mahler 4 a bit too. The Piazza Centre is also similair, but still not quite what I was thinking. Actually I think it was in Eindhoven that I remember seeing an urban space that was similair to the Clear Spirit renderings. I am sure I will remember where eventually, or just end up wasting time searching through photos online trying to figure it out.

And thanks for the info on the Den Bosch castles. Are there any other developments like that in the Netherlands or Europe? They are really interesting, even if they are not someplace I would want to live. No problems with the site being Dutch either. It just gives me more chances to practice reading and understanding Dutch.

I am curious about the towns name though. Are 's Hertogenbosch and Den Bosch used interchangeably? Or does 's Hertogenbosch refer only to the town and Den Bosch just to the municipality?

Edit: Actually the Den Hosch castles give me a perfect excuse to go exploring the south of the Netherlands again. It was too bad I didn't have more time to explore that area when I was there last. I really liked Eindhoven actually. It had a very nice scale and atmosphere to it and very friendly people.
 
You're welcome!

I know of no other developments in both the Netherlands and Europe that are similar to the one in Den Bosch.
The names 's Hertogenbosch and Den Bosch are used interchangeably. You can use whichever one you prefer. In writing, 's Hertogenbosch is usually used, it is the more formal version of the two. In speaking, Den Bosch is usually used. It is the more casual name of the town. To make matters more complicated, during the carnival festivities in spring, the town is called 'Oeteldonk' for a few days.
The Hague has the same kind of double name: 's Gravenhage is the formal name and Den Haag is the informal name, both can be used interchangeably.

Eindhoven is somtimes called the Rotterdam of the South, because of the fact that their city centre was destroyed during world war two aswell. As a result of that, the city is quite modern, just like Rotterdam.

By the way, I see you have moved back to Canada from Europe. How's the Ottawa-Gatineau metro area as a place to live? I have read great things about the area... some Dutch immigrants describe it as the perfect place to live, it's not too crowded, but yet it has got all the amenities one needs.
 
Ottawa-Gatineau is an interesting city. If you are 20 or 30 something single person or young couple looking for an exciting place to live, you probably would not want to live in Ottawa. It does have some local arts scene and subculture and other interesting activities, but it is far from that of Toronto or Montreal. And if you are looking for a progressive, forward thinking city, then Ottawa is probably not the best choice either (I am sure I am not the only socialist living in this city who feels totally hopeless reading the local newspaper).

But there are a lot of good things about it too. The access too parks, bike paths, the Ottawa River, the Rideau Canal, and Dows Lake can make up for a lot of it. In the summer I will spend far more time in the parks (which are rarely that far for most people) than in the city when I am outdoors. That is one aspect of the city that few places in Canada can compare with. And even the city itself is not too bad. The Byward Market is nice and as you mentioned, it does have a lot of amenities that bigger cities have. The fact that it is a capital city also adds an interesting dynamic. There are a lot of nice neighborhoods with embassies and expats and it is one of the few cities in Canada that has a Dutch primary school (which also runs language courses at night for beginers like myself).

It is a really livable city and even if not the most exciting it is still a good place to live. Actually I had not planned on moving here when I came back but because I have to have some surgery done over the next half year on my eye and since Ottawa has a good facility for it I found myself here. Once I am done school (finally) in 2 years time I will probably go elsewhere but since I won't have a very exciting life anyways while I am finishing my studies I don't mind being here.
 
Nice looking tower- I really like the curves and strong unbroken horizontals. One of these would look good in the Y/B neighbourhood. Not too sure about the tutti frutti splashes of colour but other wise it looks very fresh and refined. It never hurts to have hot looking babes in the renders either.
 
Anarcho, thanks for the info on Ottawa! I understand how having lots of green spaces add to the attractiveness of a city... I am moving to Utrecht this week and I'm 100 metres away from a large urban park.
 

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