The architectural signature of VenhoevenCS is not based on form, but on design principles that have evolved over the years. Most of these design principles are directly or indirectly related to sustainability.

Energy-conscious

Early examples of saving energy can be found in a social housing complex for the elderly at the Wilhelmina Gasthuis area in Amsterdam: the project features glass conservatories instead of balconies, a very unusual feature at that time in the Netherlands. Later design strategies focused on creating ‘fat’ buildings, with less façade and strategic use of glass: we tried to create buildings that could be healthy, warm, cool, and bright enough, while still saving energy.

Saving buildings from demolition is important. The saying goes: “buildings don’t wear out, but ugly out”, so from early on, we have tried to make buildings that are culturally resilient, meaning that the design does not become outdated, but appeals to later generations. Our design strategy aimed to create ambiguous spaces, hinting at certain symbols and metaphors, but avoiding direct representations. We tried to create room for personal interpretation, appropriation, curiosity, and suspense: is it a cave, a spaceship, a molehill, a robot? What will I find around that corner? Is that the end of the building or not?

Another important strategy was to create multi-purpose interiors, so a building could be used in other ways later. The laboratory we designed for the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority in Zwijndrecht (commissioned 1998, completed 2003) was refurbished into a co-working space in 2017.

Sportplaza Mercator (commissioned 2001, completed 2006), with the first completely green façade in the Netherlands

VWA, laboratory for the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority in Zwijndrecht (commissioned 1998, completed 2003, refurbished 2017).

VenhoevenCS has a long history of designing compact, walkable cities and neighbourhoods with a minimal eco-footprint. In 1995, we designed an experimental, conceptual urban plan for the Eastern Docklands in Amsterdam. We took a regular city plan, with residences, warehouses, offices, shops, parks, meadows, recreational facilities, a zoo, boulevards, bicycle routes, public transport, and roads. Then we ‘rolled’ the whole thing up, so the flat ‘pancake’ city plan became like a ‘wrap’. This was used the blueprint for a dense, compact, integrated city plan, at 1,600 metres long, 60 metres deep and 35 metres high.

Oostelijke Handelskade, (design 1995) photos of models

In 2003, we entered  a competition to regenerate the port area in IJmuiden. We created a dense, mixed-use urban plan for living, working, and recreational activities. The plan is largely car-free, with a kaleidoscopic offering of roads, alleys and footpaths mainly dedicated to pedestrians.

Dokweggebied, IJmuiden (conceptual urban plan 2003). Right: photo of model

Another experimental design was City of Cities (2005), a proposal for a new city for 500,000 inhabitants in South Korea. The competition area consisted of 73 km², but the compact City of Cities only uses 18 km². The design is completely centred around the pedestrian. The key concept of this project is ‘immediacy’. Neighbourhood density regulations vary with proximity and service level of public transport nodes. Neighbourhoods also vary in size, are all mixed-use and car-free and have high service levels. Every resident can find all destinations a modern metropolis can offer within walking distance. Other destinations can be reached rapidly by underground railway, bus, or car. And nature is always nearby, no more than 1.5 km or a 15-minute walk away.