HOOGRAVEN, URBAN REHAB

Location: Utrecht, Holland

Date: 2010

Client: Utrecht Manifest Organization / Hoograven Municipality in the City of Utrecht

 

 

The neighborhood of Hoograven presents a situation where predominate planning practices have favored a “tabula rasa.” These conditions have not been able to accommodate flexible and dynamic growth. The urban condition now needs a new logic of density, hybridity and informality.

 

This proposal follows a new spirit of urban intervention with physical appropriation, hybridity, production and adaptive reuse. Different locust of activity, such as the ArtSpot and PlaySpots, provide a new recreational and cultural campus for the neighborhood of Hoograven. This proposal revitalizes the existing industrial zone through the introduction of the HKU, new student and faculty housing with dedicated commercial zones, the renovation of the Pastoefabriek, and an integrated art park. A new running track also weaves through the site, connecting these diverse programs to each other and to the existing fabric of Hoograven.

 

The LiveSpot will rehabilitate and extend the existing housing units with the introduction of flexible expansion “jackets.” The jackets provide increased insulation, new water infrastructure, gallery circulation, balconies (both public and private) and opportunities for growth. The addition of the jacket allows for the building to be rehabilitated without the necessity of relocating the inhabitants. The urban experience is condensed and made more accommodating through the insertion of new commercial spaces and a souk

 

PlaySpot provides a dynamic sports hub that consists of a Vertical Gymnasium, skatepark, renovated rowing club and an activated pedestrian walkway. The elevated pathway connects the various programs on the site while providing access to each zone. The skate park is placed within an existing wall, adapting a lost structure for a new vibrant purpose.