De Koningin

The Kraanbolwerk, a peninsula just a stone’s throw away from the historic city centre of Zwolle, has been redesigned to create a unique residential zone. On behalf of property developer Van Wonen Vastgoedontwikkeling, Zecc Architecten designed De Koningin (The Queen) – an apartment block – and eight townhouses. This imposing city island combines urban influences with a characterful sense of intricacy. The Kraanbolwerk is anything but a standard suburban residential development.

The Kraanbolwerk, surrounded by the Zwarte Water River, previously served as a defensive bastion to protect the inner harbour and crane gate of this Hanseatic city. Its unique location at the heart of the city traditionally provided ideal conditions for trade and industry to develop. The Thorbeckegracht was characterised by a mixture of merchants’ houses and luxury canal-side mansions and the Friesewal was known for its warehouses. The demolition of the old factories and warehouses created space for a diverse programme of residential buildings on top of a parking layer. The development and positioning of the new residential properties deliberately took advantage of the historic atmosphere of the narrow alleyways and intimate courtyards.

City silhouette
With its ten floors,De Koningin is the tallest building in the Kraanbolwerk. The industrial heritage played an instrumental role in the design process, which aimed to create a building that is a combination of a warehouse and a palace. A building with an expressively rich visual language. The tall roof section with double dormer windows features palatial references, and the vertical brick pilasters reflect the area’s industrial character and warehouse architecture. The pilasters provide clear direction to the building, giving it a stately, chic appeal. With her gold-coloured metal-plated roof, this Queen literally comes complete with her own crown. This adds a new silhouette to the Zwolle cityscape alongside the familiar Peperbus tower. For the whole Kraanbolwerk area, De Koningin also serves as a gateway because the entrance to the car park for the whole peninsula is located here. This made its construction even more complex.