Platform on new construction, renovation, restoration and transformation
In the middle of a lot on Laan van Nieuw Oost-Indië stood an office building that paid little attention to its surroundings. A building set back from the street, surrounded by cars, and with a parking garage beneath it. During its transformation into the NOI Avenue residential complex, Geurst & Schulze Architects reversed that image. The isolated building has once again become part of a closed block in The Hague’s Bezuidenhout neighborhood.
The 1970s office building designed by architect Kraaijvanger stood alone in a neighborhood that had developed around 1900 and was largely destroyed during the 1945 bombing of Bezuidenhout. In consultation with the city’s urban planner, the architectural firm Geurst & Schulze extended the buildings along Laan van Nieuw Oost-Indië back to the street. This restored the street frontage that had existed there more than a hundred years ago.
The building gained additional volume and an extra story. From the street, the volume steps back in sets, giving the upper apartments a rooftop terrace and ensuring that the street across the way receives sufficient sunlight. The taller section, perpendicular to the avenue, is crowned with a row of penthouses. On De Carpentierstraat, ground-level residences will be built atop the existing parking garage, in line with the single-family homes on the opposite side. A commercial base will bring extra vitality to Laan van Nieuw Oost-Indie.
The existing building shell had limited load-bearing capacity. As a result, the firm was not free to choose the facade system. Jeroen Geurst, architect and co-founder of Geurst & Schulze: “We chose a lightweight system: wooden inner cavity walls clad with large ceramic tiles that have a natural stone look. The tiles are from Mosa and are made from recycled materials.” The result is a stone-like building with large windows and loggias facing the street. “The colors blend in with the surroundings, and with the balconies, the building looks like a residential building rather than an office.”
The biggest challenge lay in the existing building itself. Structural integrity was an issue not only in the facade but throughout the entire building. According to Geurst, creating good floor plans within the existing grid was quite a puzzle. The old corridor was replaced by two porticos, so that the apartments are arranged around a central stairwell. The existing stairwells were replaced with new ones. “That’s what took the most time. You have to adapt everything to what’s already there.”
By reusing the building shell, a significant amount of CO2 remains sequestered. Combined with the lightweight facades, green roofs, and landscaped terraces, the building therefore scores high on sustainability. For Geurst, the project demonstrates that preservation often works better than demolition. He is particularly proud of the urban design outcome. “You can now clearly see that the street flows through again, whereas it was initially interrupted by a sort of discordant element. Where there used to be an inward-facing office building, the block now belongs to the neighborhood once again. And that brings more life to the street.”
