The former Philips-area
The Strijp-S ensemble in Eindhoven was designed and built during the second machine-age. The machine and the factory became predominant, resulting in a truly efficient and rational expression. The industrial logistics and technical principles of the Philips manufacturing process, inspired by Ford and Taylor, resulted in a collection of buildings with a very different look. An autonomous piece of city with strictly organised and physically connected buildings. An urban system of streets and squares where long lines prevail and functionality was sacred.
Connections
Today, the architectural and urban principles of Strijp-S still form a mental connection with this rich history. The physical connections between buildings however have faded throughout the years. Our project ‘Haasje Over’ re-introduces the physical relation with its neighbours. Explicit and visual, as two arms that embrace the surroundings.
Two bridges
The main volume is a tower of 70 meter high which consists of 134 50m2 loft-apartments. The lofts have a very spacious feel due to a floor to ceiling height of 4 meters and their large picture frame window. The first bridge of the building embraces an existing industrial-hall that now functions as a skate-hall. Not only does the skate-hall express the architecture of former times, it was and still is programmatically very important for the transformation of Strijp-S. It ensures a vibrant and diverse urban area of a certain grittiness and coolness that belongs there. A character that is often removed from these areas when ‘the new’ comes. The bridge houses form a separate community of 48 maisonette- houses that are accessed form a collective courtyard hovering above the skate-hall.
The second arm is located half-way the main tower and connects to an existing roof garden on top of the monumental ‘Anton-building’. This Philips-monument has been transformed into housing, but the roof-garden is rarely used. The bridge opens the roof-garden for all the inhabitants of Haasje-over and creates an active connection for the communities of both buildings. Next to that the bridge itself is shaped in such a way that it is not just a connector but a place to use, meet and enjoy socially.
Extending your living space
The large windows are an extension of your living-room, stressing the connection with the environment. You are not only at home in your house, but always part of the neighbourhood. The picture frames are detailed flush with the outer layer of the facade to create a deep bay window; a place to sit and enjoy the view. Inside becomes outside.
Functionality in the facade
The bay windows are framed in a robust concrete grid facade built out of sandwich panels. The mass of the concrete is deliberately contrasting to the bridge over the skate-hall that is materialised in steel and glass. This makes both volumes stand out. The materialisation of the bridge references to the progressive attitude of the machine-age. Steel structures with large sheets of glass.
Strijp-S is not anymore autonomous and closed-off from the rest of the city, and its special character is still present. Haasje Over embraces that character and creates new connections. Open to its context, fostering a lively urban community.
