Werkspoor op Oostenburg

Attractive housing plans are a challenge in such a dense urban scheme and as a consequence, the housing typology must be responsive to its surroundings. At Oostenburg this transformation of housing plans has been deployed as a key design aspect; the pragmatism with which this is done is in itself a reference to industrial architecture. As such, the lower part of the building contains larger apartments which are more capable of dealing with less favorable daylight situations. Being close to grade level, these apartments are ideal for families. Higher up, the building is freed of constraints and apartments change in both size and orientation.

While the subsequent vertical zoning is informed by the urban context, it is amplified by the building’s routing. From the main entrance lobby at the ground floor, residents take an express elevator to one of three other strategically placed and uniquely programmed collective spaces in the building. The lower lobby is in use as a rather intimate library while the middle lobby is used as a kitchen with a winter garden for gathering with friends. The top-most lobby profits from generous views across the cityscape. From each of these collective spaces and within a range of two floors, an attractive staircase offers residents a pedestrian route their respective apartments.