Bolero as Hague eye-catcher

Two special residential towers are rising along the Schedeldoekshaven in The Hague, next to education and culture building Amare. The urban plan is by JCAU, residential tower Adagio is designed by MVSA and Klunder Architects is responsible for the 85-meter high Bolero. According to the firm, this tower will be a graceful building with lots of allure.

After Jo Coenen (JCAU) created the master plan for project Sonate in the Spui Quarter, Klunder Architects was approached to design the Bolero and Cantate residential towers. "Bolero is a project we are very proud of and with which we offer great added value to The Hague," says director Sjoerd Berghuis. Gemeente Den Haag has yet to agree on the construction of Cantate.

Says architect Gijs Burg, "In the initial phase, we worked a lot with MVSA, JCAU and the Planning Commission to match the colors and materials of Adagio and Bolero." According to Berghuis, the very first visual of the building was more modern than the final design. "A lot has changed over time. There was a desire to give the building more Hague allure. Hague buildings often have crowns in the form of battlements and we applied these to end the building as well." Partly because of this, Bolero really fits into the Hague skyline. 

A skirting board with wow factor

Most striking is the plinth, for which much glass and Portuguese natural stone was used, both inside and outside. Burg: "Because of the raised ground level on the Amare side, also called the city balcony, we chose a plinth 10 meters high. The city balcony forms a connection between Schedeldoekhaven and Spuiplein, which is reached by so-called Spanish Steps. The glass plinth provides a lot of transparency and an open and attractive appearance." The plinth received an arcade, which covers the spacious sidewalk and protects pedestrians from the elements.

Looking at Bolero, one sees a building that appears to have two parts. Says Berghuis, "There was a need to break the wide volume into two parts. The middle strip makes the building more subtle." Instead of cantilevered balconies, Klunder Architects provided the homes with loggias. Says Berghuis, "In this way, the outdoor spaces remain part of the building." The penthouses have full-length balconies to make the most of the views. 

Because of the limited building space, a prefabricated facade system was chosen. Burg: "These parts are lifted into place on site, so the builder does not have to work with scaffolding. It was a challenge to eliminate the seams of the precast parts. The seam falls between the window frame and façade, so as to blend in with the lines present in the masonry façades of beige strand compressed brick."

Completion of Bolero is scheduled for the first quarter of 2022, and the 188 homes in various sizes have already gone on lease. Says Berghuis, "It is nice that we have operated as a team, not only as an agency, but also with the consultants and developers. You can't come up with a location like this on your own, it requires good cooperation and we are strong at that."