The district centre of Ypenburg, located next to The Hague, was established in the nineties as part of a large city extension for 30.000 inhabitants. According to the original masterplan the district centre was to be conceived as ‘superblock’. This masterplan requirement was transformed step by step. The park was moved from the inside of the block to the outside and situated between the crescent facade and the artificial lake. In addition, the superblock was divided into nine smaller blocks, fitting more into the adjacent surrounding area.
Instead of the large-scale shopping plaza, the new block ensemble is queued alongside a street in east-westerly direction, opening up to all public services, supermarkets and shops. At right angle to the shopping street, wedge-shaped public spaces are located, giving access to the park. Nine slender towers grant a vertical accent to each block, thus not only marking the main entrances to each individual block, but also providing skyline its characteristic silhouette.
