Platform on new construction, renovation, restoration and transformation
With the Ensemble project, a new residential ensemble is emerging in Veldhoven that represents an important milestone both from an urban and architectural point of view. The plan includes the four apartment buildings Aria, Ballata, Concerto and Duetto, carefully positioned around the existing music school, on the site of the former Rabobank and TNT buildings. The result is a well-considered housing project that fits seamlessly both the ambitions of Veldhoven and the urgent housing task in the Eindhoven region.
We spoke with Jan-Hein Biemans, urban designer and consultant at Veldhoven Municipality, and Jur van Aken, director of Van Schijndel Bouwgroep. Together they look back on the intensive and constructive cooperation that helped make this project possible.
When Van Schijndel Bouwgroep acquired the site, the spatial ‘load capacity’ of the site was examined in consultation with the municipality. The existing music school turned out - after a study - not to be relocated. That presented opportunities: the new residential buildings were placed as an ensemble around this existing anchor element. “Moreover, the project is located on one of the five ‘green fingers’ that cut through Veldhoven from east to west,” Biemans adds. “These green structures define the identity of our municipality. Ensemble had to become a seamless part of that.”
Municipal structural visions had already identified this location as a possible spot for an urban accent. For a long time, Veldhoven applied the unwritten rule of not building higher than seven stories outside the center. Yet here - in line with the Structural Vision (2009) - a 12-story residential tower was chosen as a striking new landmark. “It was one of the longest council meetings ever to get a zoning plan enacted,” laughs Biemans. “But it was clear that there was an opportunity here to give direction to future urban development.” And that is needed. The Eindhoven region faces the task of realizing 70,000 housing units in the next 10 years, of which about 7,000 will be in Veldhoven. The presence and growth of ASML, the Máxima Medical Center and the High Tech Campus are creating enormous housing demand. “Each new employee of ASML indirectly generates 2.5 additional jobs,” says Van Aken.
“The housing pressure is huge. Ensemble is a precursor to what Veldhoven needs.”
Ensemble uses a collective heat system, where heat is generated and shared centrally. The system utilizes waste heat and reduces the individual installation burden. “It is efficient, future-proof and appropriate to the scale of this project,” Van Aken said. But sustainability, he says, goes beyond installations: “Sustainability starts with architecture. Something that is beautiful and timeless lasts much longer. If a building can last a hundred years because people like to live there, that is by definition more sustainable than a ‘calculation plan’ that becomes obsolete after thirty years.”
The four buildings stand on two semi-underground parking basements, surrounded by rich greenery and featuring rich green roof gardens. Pavement is severely limited, parking lots are executed with grass clinkers, and the landscape quality is managed by the developer himself. This ensures a higher level of green maintenance than municipal management would allow.
Within Ensemble, there was a deliberate focus on social meeting places. In Ballata there is a green courtyard garden where residents gather, while in Duetto on the third floor there is a roof garden with seating areas. “In the midst of corona time, we realized how crucial meeting is,” says Van Aken. “That thought is woven into this design.” Pauwert Architecture of Eindhoven gave the four buildings a cohesive identity with varying massing and high-quality materialization. The 170 apartments range from about 53 to over 130 m2. “Because we hold the entire portfolio, we are developing for the long term,” Van Aken said. “We are not opting for minimal surfaces, but for quality.” The interest speaks volumes: after the website went live, more than 2,500 interested parties registered. The first eighty apartments of Aria and Ballata have now been completed and occupied; Concerto and Duetto will follow in mid-2026.
