Information

The VDMA-terrain is situated at a walking distance from the Eindhoven station. This location houses the Luciferfabriek (matchbox factory), the old Ford garage, a former dormitory for nurses and several villas from the 1930’s. In 2017, the City of Eindhoven started a big tender procedure for the sale of the terrain. The last 2 years, we worked with an allround expert team through 3 rounds and 20 competitors and got second in the end. We are proud of this result and our inspiring plan.

Our proposal turns the once forgotten area into a new green neighbourhood. The ground level is green, grounded and accessible. The small scale buildings follow the rhythm of the existing halls and are molded to the existing structure. Four iconographic high-rise elements hover above, of which the Roofscraper is the most prominent element; a horizontal icon that rises above the old nursery dormitory like a cloud. With a big staircase, you can climb the public roof terraces.

By lifting part of the buildings, we preserve all historical architecture and leave a large part of the groundspace open and green. The architecture and urban design serve this radically green public space. Besides the ground level, the facades and roofs are all covered with green. To form a biotope for birds and insects, existing trees will be preserved and new native plants and a creek connected with the river Dommel will be added. The Biomakery, a subtropical greenhouse, purifies the water. In this plan nature and city reinforce each other.

The total size of our proposal counts around 75.000m2 with housing combined with a non-residential program that focuses on talent development. Therefor we planned a collaboration with educational functions, youth work and a start-up accelerator focused on Eindhovens Tech Design Knowledge.