The Residential building De Hoogschout in Etten-Leur, forms a harmonious ensemble together with the adjacent monastery ’t Withof. The building encloses several intimate outdoor spaces within the monastery’s green surroundings and serves as a contemporary addition to the historic row of buildings alongside the Bisschopsmolenstraat.

All forty apartments are spacious and feature generous outdoor areas oriented toward the green pockets between the buildings. In doing so, De Hoogschout offers an appealing living environment for empty nesters, helping to stimulate housing circulation in Etten-Leur. The building presents itself to the street as a clear mass with its strict grid façade, while it—in an inverted gesture—frames the green pockets adjacent to the building. Here, the grid opens up with large façade openings and balconies.

The building is positioned on a raised plinth above a semi-sunken parking garage, creating a transitional zone between the residences and the public space.  At the front, this is formally expressed with a masonry edge, a staircase leading to the entrance, and a discreet ramp to the parking garage. On the other façades, this zone is designed as a green embankment, providing privacy for the private outdoor spaces.

The simplicity of the architectural language serves as an instrument to connect the building, the landscape, and the historical architecture.