A new urban ensemble in a unique Utrecht development
Cix Merwede is a new urban ensemble in the heart of the Merwedekanaalzone in Utrecht. Commissioned by the development consortium Merwede Vijf (Lingotto, Blink | a JAJO company, 3T Vastgoed), VenhoevenCS and Marc Koehler Associates are designing two urban blocks – City and Theatre – that are organised around a rich, green landscape: an inner world that extends the public realm and can be felt throughout the series of super-dense blocks. In this way, Cix gives spatial form to Merwede’s ambition to bring together high density, healthy urban living and a nature-inclusive living environment.
High ambitions
The design for Cix builds on the development plan by BURA Urbanism, which provides for 6,000 homes and a wide range of amenities. The social and ecological objectives – such as wellbeing for all ages, healthy mobility and a strong habitat for plants and animals – have been translated into concrete requirements for each block.
Merwede consists of 24 new urban blocks that together form one of the most ambitious sustainable urban districts in the Netherlands. Within a framework that puts nature-inclusive building, climate adaptation and energy efficiency at the centre, VenhoevenCS and Marc Koehler Associates are designing two of these blocks. The district is natural gas-free, designed to be rainwater-neutral and aims for maximum local energy generation; nature development and biodiversity are treated as equivalent design principles. Instead of stacking separate sustainability demands, energy performance, material-conscious construction, green structures and water management have been developed as one integrated system.
In addition, high standards are set for architectural diversity: Merwede is envisioned as a “coulissen city”, with variation in height, grain and façades. For Cix, this led to an intensive design process in which parametric models were used to arrive at an optimal built volume. The result is an ensemble of slender towers and lower volumes that ensures good sunlight, plenty of light and air in the inner areas and a healthy living environment – a careful balancing act that ultimately contributes to a rich and varied urban milieu at eye level.
Foundation for a robust ecosystem
A distinctive element of City and Theatre are the elevated inner courtyards. Together with Buro Harro, a (semi-)public courtyard landscape has been designed that appears to flow lushly out of the blocks and forms the basis for a new, robust ecosystem. Thanks to the slender towers and the variation in building heights, sunlight reaches these lifted courtyards generously throughout the day. The terraced landscapes form green hills with a great diversity of planting, where residents can spend time surrounded by greenery in the midst of high urban density.
Beneath one courtyard lies the theatre, beneath the other a mobility hub with shared mobility and facilities. On top of these programmes, accessible, shared gardens emerge that provide cooling, buffer rainwater and create a pleasant microclimate, while inviting informal encounters. In this way, the courtyards connect the homes naturally with the surrounding green structure.
The green structure of Cix follows Merwede’s “green first” principle: green where it can, building where it must. The courtyards connect to a fine-grained network of inner gardens, green roofs, collective yards and biodiverse planting. This creates a continuous green system in which nature forms the basis of urban life. The carefully selected planting provides food, nesting opportunities and shelter for birds, insects and small mammals and makes the blocks an integral part of the Merwede biotope, in which urban nature, water, climate adaptation and housing have been designed hand in hand from the start.
Connected routes and permeable courtyards
The project is located at the heart of a car-free district, where walking and cycling are the primary modes of transport. Cars are deliberately kept out of the street scene and are only facilitated via shared mobility and mobility hubs at the edges of Merwede. This creates a safe, calm living environment with maximum space for greenery and quality of public space.
A fine-grained network of paths, alleyways and a few access routes connects Cix with Merwedeplein, the future Merwede Park and the surrounding blocks. This permeability operates not only spatially but also socially: the routes provide views of urban life, make informal encounters natural and link homes, courtyard and street into one coherent living environment. Anyone leaving the bicycle parking always passes through a communal garden; some routes are fully public and cut straight through the ensemble. As a result, a series of natural connections emerges that leads residents and visitors through greenery, along the active ground floors and towards the courtyards.
The entrances to homes, hospitality venues, care functions and maker spaces are located where these lines converge. This creates a lively rhythm of movement, encounter and dwelling at eye level, in which urban dynamics and the green inner world continuously reinforce one another.
A rich mix of functions
This permeable structure opens the way for a mixed and active programme. The ground floors contain a broad range of public and social amenities, including an activity centre, supermarket, daytime care, bicycle parking and bicycle shop, fitness, hospitality and creative workspaces. Block Theatre adds a cultural centre and theatre, a key public attractor that enriches urban life in Merwede.
Above these active ground floors lies a varied housing programme with social rental, affordable owner-occupied, mid-range and free-market homes, ranging from studios and apartments to duplex and triplex homes and penthouses. This diversity of functions and housing types appeals to different target groups and income levels and contributes to a mixed and vibrant community, in line with Merwede’s ambitions as an inclusive urban district.
