Rijnvliet Oost Utrecht

The southernmost part of the residential building was designed by Zecc with the largest court. The sloping lines of the building block have been consistently continued in the design of the courtyard garden. This determines the line play of the paving, the formal language of the planting areas and the jagged edges as a transition with private zones of dwellings.

The noise-exposed facade was designed by Zecc from a fascination with more industrial buildings. The dwellings are not readable here and an abstract tessellation of brickwork, large steel glass panes over several floors and small window openings were chosen as variety. Behind this deaf facade is indoor access, where houses do receive daylight. These homes are strongly oriented toward the spacious courtyard with large windows and rounded balconies.

On Letscherweg, the building has a very different character. Here the building stands firmly in the green with a high plinth of 2-story dwellings, apartments with balconies and setbacks that stagger over two stories. The apartments in the plinth have their outdoor space on the second floor at the raised courtyard. In the spacious courtyard, some of the homes are accessed by a gallery. Large planters have been created with seating areas in the court. From the perennial planters, greenery can be guided along the construction of the gallery.

The facades are bricked in a thick format hand-formed brick. In the noise-exposed facades, the industrial atmosphere and coarse character is reinforced by the use of a 3-layer block bond. Other facades, on the other hand, use a more friendly bond. Vertically set back brickwork gives an extra vertical articulation in the façade on Letschertweg.

As a secondary facade material Resysta is used, a bio-based facade material based on rice husk. It is applied in blindly attached vertical parts at the location of the galleries and as a local filling of facade openings on the court side. This material gives an extra softening to the court due to its natural appearance.

Photografer: Stijn Poelstra fotografie & video