Transformation of former Rijkswaterstaat offices

Houben / Van Mierlo Architects were given the challenge of transforming the former office building from a temporary visitor to a building that had settled in the district. The former office building of Rijkswaterstaat (the Dutch Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management) had been constructed using no-nonsense concrete architecture, but it had been placed in its surroundings with surprising sensitivity and modesty, as it if were merely visiting.

Additional residential capacity was added to the building. By cleverly removing heavy building mass, two residential floors could be added to the building without any additional foundation materials. Recycled and reusable materials and lightweight concrete were used to reduce the weight. We provided the lightweight columns, beams and new thin balconies for this project. The use of lightweight concrete allowed the building to be extended by 1.5 metres.

ARC19 Development Award

The transformation of the office building on the Schubertsingel in Den Bosch was given the ARC19 Development Award. The project has also been nominated for the 2019 Reynaers project award.