“ In total, over 180 owner-occupied and rental
apartments have been realized in Hoge Duin,
varying from 70 to 200 m2.
The existing situation posed a considerable challenge for this
purpose, but it certainly also had qualities, such as its location
amid the green, expansive views and a fine-meshed stability
structure of the high-rise building. cepezed was elected as
architect because of its experience with complex transformations
and a plan that offered maximum solutions and possibilities
combined with a minimum of highly purposive interventions. The
design is based on and makes use of existing characteristics and
qualities as much as possible. However, the existing low-rise was
unsuitable for housing. Hence, this structure has been demolished
and replaced by new construction.
HIGH DUNE
In the new setting, the high-rise is called Hoge Duin (High Dune).
With a structural grid of 1.80 m, the building consisted of office
strips along the façades, a core strip with stairs, lifts and shafts
in the heart and corridors to the offices on either side of the core.
Therefore, the dwellings do not have a traverse-like typology with
windows on the front and back. Instead, they are oriented along
the façades, just like the offices before. As a result, they receive a
lot of daylight and have a panoramic view; of the city center on one
side of the building and the sea on the other. Just like the large free
height of the apartments, this contributes to an enormous spatial
experience.
LIGHTWEIGHT EXTENSION
However, the existing office strips were not deep enough for
the homes. In addition, the apartments had to have large,
spacious outdoor areas. On the sea side, therefore, the former
CEPEZED
corridor has been added to the houses, while loggias have been
created here within the existing building contour. On the city
side, the building has been provided with an extension three
meters deep, containing balconies and extra living space. This
extension consists of a steel “rack” with floors of composite slabs
with profiled steel sheeting. The rack is relatively lightweight
and transfers its loads to the existing construction and the
existing basement, so that it could be realized without additional
foundation. All apartments are accessed via the former corridor
on the city side. For a pleasant, open and spatial experience, voids
have been created in the access zone.
IMAGE WITH ALLURE
The heads of the building originally contained escape stairs.
These have been moved to former shafts, making it possible to
realize special corner dwellings with an even wider view than the
other apartments. The limestone end façades of the building have
been preserved. The longitudinal façades have been completely
renovated according to current building physics standards. With
high strips of glass and strips of white emalit, they respect the
modernist character of the existing building, but at the same
time give the image of a residential building with allure. Two large
recesses in the extension rack on the city side are part of a varied
and intriguing view.
FLEXIBLE LAYOUT
In total, over 180 owner-occupied and rental apartments have
been realized in Hoge Duin, varying from 70 to 200 m2. Some
of these are short-stay apartments. There are also a number of
hotel apartments for residents’ guests. In addition, eight spacious
penthouses with dimensions between 165 and 300 m2 have been
realized in the former installation spaces on the roof.
The structural grid size of 1.80 m meant that the house
dimensions and layouts were adaptable to market demands until
well into the design phase. Now after realization, the grid also
offers many opportunities for change.
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