Tall & Urban News

The site of the former swimming pool Brabantbad is located just outside the center of 's-Hertogenbosch, the capital of the Dutch province of North Brabant. The park borders IIzeren Vrouw, a former sand extraction lake.

The starting point of KCAP’s design, under Hertog Bouw’s commission (a collaboration of AM, Dura Vermeer, Heijmans and Hendriks Bouw & Ontwikkeling), was to enrich and enliven the park as much as possible, while keeping it a safe and green place for all to enjoy. 

"KCAP designed three slender round-shaped towers that take up minimal space and, due to their staggered positioning, generate maximum views and allow the greenery to spread unhindered between the buildings. Due to their round shape, the towers have no "back" and offer an all-round lively character."

- Edward Schuurmans, Architect, Partner, KCAP

The towers are divided into three vertical sections that are in line with their surroundings; the plinths are designed to be slender and transparent to welcome the residents, guarantee views and interact directly with the surroundings through their programming. The middle section of the towers is at the same height of the trees. Balconies on the façade create contact between the dwellings and the park. The upper section is designed more abstractly and becomes part of the skyline of 's-Hertogenbosch. 

The ensemble of three towers on the site of the former swimming pool seeks a visual connection with the "three Amazones," three towers on the other side of the lake. But unlike these, KCAP's towers reveal subtle mutual differences. Not least in the diversity of the floorplans and housing types. Here, the pie-shaped layouts provide luxurious living experiences and unique panoramic views of the surroundings of the park, the IIzeren Vrouw, and the skyline of 's-Hertogenbosch. Collectively, the three towers offer approximately 180 apartments.

KCAP's design gives the towers’ minimal footprints. The compact, sustainable buildings incorporate advanced technical solutions such as a heating and cooling unit with heat pumps that use the lake's water to provide emission-free heating in the winter and cooling in the summer. The extra parking spaces required will be semi-underground and offer car-sharing.

For more on this story, go to World Architecture News.