Amsterdam-based architecture and urban design practice Studioninedots has designed a building as part of the new Hyde Park district development in Hoofddorp, a town in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer in the Netherlands. The studio’s challenge was to create a building that accommodates 124 social housing units (alongside a community cafe and workspaces) in a complex volume and activates the three urban axes around the site.
International architecture and urbanism office MVRDV designed the urban development plan for the new Hyde Park district, part of the Metropolitan Region Amsterdam. The 400,000-square-meter (4,305,564-square-feet) urban development will transform the former Beukenhorst-West office area of Hoofddorp into a new city district.
A group of architectural firms were appointed to design and develop the district’s different blocks, overseen by MVRDV. The building designed by Studioninedots is named “Octavia Hill”. It is being constructed in the heart of Hyde Park, on an intricate site outlined by three main axes that run through the area — consequently, the site necessitated a narrower and more unusual building envelope. Studioninedots describes Octavia Hill as a building that is “as abstract as it is distinctive — from different perspectives, Octavia Hill invariably looks different to passers-by.”
A key aspect of MVRDV's vision for Hyde Park is the inclusion of “cuts” in the buildings to maximize sunlight and views. Studioninedots approached this requirement by making it an added feature: a cascading arrangement of outdoor spaces on the upper floors are accessible to all residents. Each building in the district will also have cutaways (referred to as “bites”), introducing layers into the facades and providing a sense of cohesion between structures. “We utilized this element in a way that gives the two entrances to the public base more prominence and leaves more public space around the building,” says Studioninedots.
Studioninedots set about designing Octavia Hill by creating both quality and varied housing units. The studio’s concept increases the building’s prominence and appeal by including a community cafe and workspaces open to both residents and the wider neighborhood. A five-meter-high (16-feet-high) plinth includes deep recesses with spaces that invite people to sit and a semi-underground area will provide bicycle parking.
A single blue-green engobed brick (clay bricks coated with a colorful engobe or slip) is laid in a stack bond to give Octavia Hill a soft, decorative appearance, one that will alter as the sun moves through the day. Windows and piers are spread equally along the facades and with its cutaways, the building has a pleasing, abstract quality. “Glazed bricks have been installed in the bites, creating a play of light that makes the entrances stand out,” says Studioninedots. “The contrasting balustrades not only allow all windows to be fully opened, but also give Octavia Hill the warmer appearance of a residential building.”
Construction of Octavia Hill started in late 2023 with completion due in July 2025.
Gross floor area: 9,500 square meters (102,257 square feet)
Octavia Hill
Octavia Hill (1838 – 1912) was an English social reformer concerned with the welfare of city dwellers. A pioneer of social housing, she also believed people should have access to open spaces and clean air — her campaigns helped to prevent development on London’s much loved Hampstead Heath and Parliament Hill Fields. Hill co-founded the National Trust, preserving places of historic interest and natural beauty.
