Orange Architects, in collaboration with Explorius, Nijhuis, Studio Blad, architectural historian Joseph Gardella, and Dantuma Wegkamp, have created a tender design for the Haddingestraat site in Groningen’s city center: Haddingestee. The proposal introduces a new, sustainable piece of city that is deeply rooted in the history and soil of Groningen. On the site of the former parking garage, between Haddingestraat and Pelsterstraat, the plan seamlessly fits into the existing urban fabric and builds on the layered development history of the city.
Groningen was built on the northern tip of the Hondsrug, a boulder clay ridge formed during the Ice Age that remains perceptible in the city today. The structure of alleys, courtyards, and guesthouses, such as the nearby Pelstergasthuis, forms the historical foundation on which Haddingestee builds. The plan reinterprets this medieval structure into an open and lively ensemble that aligns with the human scale and character of the inner city.
Haddingestee is designed as a permeable urban block with a fine-grained network of courtyards, alleys, and small squares that invite residents, visitors, and cyclists to wander and explore. The new buildings repair and complete the existing urban fabric and create places with distinct identities. At the heart of the plan lies a green inner courtyard, where a large tree symbolizes growth and connection. The paving integrates space for water and greenery and will be made of reused granite cobblestones, literally anchoring history into the new city floor.
The architecture of Haddingestee is composed of three layers that together form a textured cityscape. The ground floors, characterized by arches made of reclaimed brick, house hospitality spaces, an atelier, a bicycle repair shop, and a communal room. Above them, the residential façades use innovative, circular, low-carbon, stone-like materials such as rammed earth made from Hondsrug boulder clay, leftover brick batches, or dried stone products. The uppermost layers consist of wooden roof structures, creating a varied silhouette and warm, crafted character. Elements of the old parking garage return in the landscape: benches made of reused concrete physically weave the past into the new layer of the city.
Haddingestee offers a rich variety of housing types, ranging from affordable owner-occupied apartments and maisonettes to townhouses, lofts, and penthouses for a wide spectrum of residents: young, old, families, and individuals. The through-living homes are spacious and bright, carefully oriented toward courtyards and squares, and connected by communal spaces and inner gardens where residents can meet.
Beneath the plan lies a public Bicycle Hub, excavated directly into the Hondsrug. The walls of this underground space will, where possible, be constructed from hardened boulder clay, allowing the Hondsrug to remain legible and tangible. The Hub can be traversed underground, with a main entrance on Pelsterstraat and a pedestrian entrance on Haddingestraat. This makes sustainable mobility an effortless part of urban life and adds a new public layer beneath the city.
Sustainability forms the backbone of Haddingestee and is fully developed according to the World • We • Value principle. World focuses on the use of natural resources, materials, energy, and nature. The parking garage will be entirely rebuilt within the Groningen region, and the foundation piles will be reused, the most effective way to minimize CO₂ impact. The homes will be constructed according to passive building principles, with high insulation values, air-source heat pumps, and circular façade materials that keep environmental impact low. Green roofs, permeable paving, and buffering zones support climate adaptation and water retention, while landscaped inner gardens and green façades strengthen biodiversity and offer habitat for birds and insects. We describes community life. In Haddingestee, shared amenities, active ground floors, and transparent routes foster a safe and social living environment where residents meet and the city feels connected to the life within the courtyards. The block is car-free, returning public space to pedestrians and cyclists and making sustainable mobility a natural part of daily life. Value addresses the project’s meaning for the city. Haddingestee adds value by staying connected to its surroundings with respect for the history and identity of Groningen. The plan literally builds upon the city’s layers, weaving past, present, and future into a sustainable and resilient urban living environment.
Haddingestee forms a new layer in the history of Groningen, an ensemble literally constructed from the Hondsrug, where past, present, and future come together. A place where residents, visitors, and passersby meet, where the city breathes and renews itself. A new Groningen residential place: Haddingestee.
