Tag: utrecht | ArchDaily

Global Urban Transformation and Climate-Responsive Design from Venice to Rio: This Week’s Review

Antonia Piñeiro — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 06:30:00 +0000

Amid ongoing global discussions on climate adaptation and resilient urban development brought into sharper focus by the outcomes of COP30, this week's architecture news illustrates how cities worldwide are rethinking their built environments. From Venice, where the 19th Architecture Biennale concluded with debates on material use and long-term cultural impact, to international awards foregrounding regenerative and socially responsive design, the conversation around architecture is increasingly intertwined with planetary priorities. Major urban interventions, from Thessaloniki's seafront redevelopment and Rio de Janeiro's new public library, to Abu Dhabi's Natural History Museum and a civic stadium in Birmingham, demonstrate how multiple cities are addressing mobility, heritage, density, and climate resilience. Additional plans, such as Mantua's ecological urban strategy, Utrecht's elevated landscape above transport networks, and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol's redesigned landside mobility system, further reflect a transition toward integrated, people-centred urban frameworks that prioritize environmental performance, public space, and long-term territorial stewardship.

Primary School Lux / EVA architecten

Hadir Al Koshta — Sat, 19 Apr 2025 11:00:00 +0000

The school building of SO Lux on the Stauntonstraat in the Utrecht district of Zuilen was realized in 1973 and no longer meets the current wishes for special education in terms of spatial and functional aspects. In addition, the building is very outdated. It has been decided to renovate the building. The current school is characterized as a single-storey building that extends over the entire location in two wings. Due to these low buildings, the function of the building is difficult to read, and there is no clear recognition of an entrance. In the school, the group rooms are adjacent to long corridors without a 'heart' or meeting space. The design was developed from the existing cross-section. The corridor zones on Stauntonstraat are lower than the adjacent group rooms. By organizing all the new installations here, we can reach both the corridor zones and the group rooms and the insulated shielding of these creates a new façade that we use for the architecture.

De Kwekerij Apartments / Arons & Gelauff architecten

Paula Pintos — Sun, 10 Mar 2024 09:00:00 +0000

Arons & Gelauff architects designed a Tiny Forest full of starter homes for campus De Kwekerij in Utrecht, Netherlands: colorful, sustainable, and affordable due to a smart layout.

Nimeto Transformation of a Craft School / Maarten van Kesteren Architecten

Andreas Luco — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 06:00:00 +0000

MBO Nimeto is a vocational school for ‘creative space makers’, offering courses in painting, restoration, styling & presentation, sign making and the like. Its building is made up of two custom-designed vocational schools built around 1970; one was originally designed for the National Painters School, the other for the Netherlands Butchers School. They were connected by later additions, though a street separates them. Due to its many alterations over fifty years, the building’s layout had become unbalanced and suboptimal for Nimeto’s educational philosophy. Meanwhile, a growing number of students and new insights necessitated a thorough transformation.

de Boemerang’ Primary School / EVA architecten

Valeria Silva — Fri, 30 Jun 2023 12:00:00 +0000

De Boemerang primary school is located in Ondiep, Utrecht. Ondiep is a working-class neighborhood that is largely paved with little green. When integrating into the neighborhood, we, therefore, wanted to add greenery, retain the two monumental trees in the back square and make the otherwise fully paved square more liveable.

Heatherwick Studio and Barcode Architects Reveal the Design of Utrecht’s New City Center Hub

Maria-Cristina Florian — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 06:30:00 +0000

Heatherwick Studio and Barcode Architects have been selected to design a new hub for culture, work and leisure in the Jaarbeursplein central square in Utrecht, Netherlands. The project aims to respond to the city’s diverse population and to bring a sense of warmth and fun to the square, according to the architects. Nicknamed Oopen, the building’s design integrates a colorful collection of cylinders that stand out against the backdrop of the neighborhood. The team has partnered with Edge, a sustainable real estate development company, to help bring the vision to life. Construction is set to start in 2025 and the building will be delivered in 2028.

OKRA Receives the European Urban Public Space Award 2022

Agustina Iñiguez — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 05:00:00 +0000

The Dutch firm OKRA landschapsarchitecten has been awarded the European Prize for Urban Public Space 2022 for its project to restore the Catharijnesingel canal in the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands. Being an initiative of the Center of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona (CCCB), this eleventh edition received 326 projects from 35 different countries showing those problems that European cities must face and proposing some solutions in the framework of a post-pandemic context focused on climate change and how to make cities more livable.

Bovenbouwwerkplaats Transformation / Studioninedots

Paula Pintos — Tue, 08 Nov 2022 02:00:00 +0000

The impressive workshop building – in which heavy elements for the Dutch railways were manufactured – was built in 1905. Until recently, the building lost more and more of its original architectural qualities and functions. Maintenance was deteriorating, new constructions around the building obstructed the view of and from the workshop and the structure was in need of renewal.

Open Ateliers / HOH Architecten

Paula Pintos — Sun, 21 Aug 2022 11:00:00 +0000

Open Ateliers is a modular building system inspired by the qualities of the studio houses from the early twentieth century with high spaces, lots of light, and maximum freedom for the resident to live and work in.

Werkspoor Factory / Zecc Architecten

Paula Pintos — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 17:00:00 +0000

The Werkspoor District in Utrecht houses an immense industrial warehouse with a length of 175 metres. Together with several other buildings, the factory is part of the old Werkspoor. Large-scale steel constructions were processed here for civil engineering. Most of the buildings have meanwhile been demolished, but together with the Werkspoorkathedraal, the building acts as a catalyst of the area and it is a symbol for circular area development.

Central Park Office Tower / GROUP A

Andreas Luco — Thu, 28 Oct 2021 03:00:00 +0000

GROUP A has completed the sculptural office tower centrally located in the vibrant Utrecht Station Area. The 90-meter-high Central Park is named after the subtropical park that marks the city’s 45-meter line. The two-story indoor park is enclosed by a receding glass facade embracing the park like an undulating curtain. This is where employees come together to unwind, brainstorm or attend an event in a unique ecosystem overlooking the city. By making the indoor park the building’s central feature, GROUP A adds a landmark to the city’s skyline and establishes a new standard for green office buildings.

What is an "Up-And-Coming" City and How Do You Spot One?

Kaley Overstreet — Sun, 24 Oct 2021 07:30:00 +0000

It is projected that by 2025, the world’s population will reach over 8.1 billion people- and a large majority of those people will be heavily concentrated in cities. While much of the focus has been on preparing and reconfiguring our already hyper-dense urban to absorb even more people, in the peripheral, smaller cities and towns around the globe have experienced significant expansion, and have defined themselves as “up-and-coming”. Places that were perhaps once overlooked are putting themselves on the map for their rapid growth, economic vitality, and affordability, among other characteristics.

“People Have a Strong Demand for a New Proximity to Nature”: In Conversation with Stefano Boeri

Christele Harrouk — Wed, 06 Oct 2021 07:30:00 +0000

“Designing a house for trees”, as he puts it, Stefano Boeri is working across the planet, exporting his approach with trees from Mexico to Shenzhen. Building a whole ecosystem, rather than just a green facade, the architect understands the need to redefine our relationship with nature, especially in cities.

Steel Craft House / Zecc Architecten

Paula Pintos — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 02:00:00 +0000

The Steel Craft House is a fine example of self-building. In a period of ten years, a former garage was converted into a wooden residence with a Corten steel façade. It was a challenging task where good cooperation, perseverance, and love for the craft led to an incredible end result. Zecc designed the façade, the clients realised the entire project themselves with the assistance of befriended craftsmen. Every steel sheet and every oak slat literally passed hands several times.

Circular Garden Pavilion / EVA

Pilar Caballero — Mon, 21 Sep 2020 12:00:00 +0000

At a villa in the Netherlands with a large garden, this circular garden pavilion was designed as an annex. In addition to a hobby/billiards room, there is a storage room and a carport.

ZigZag House / Jasper Smits Architecture

Andreas Luco — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 12:00:00 +0000

Location. A new residential area has been built on the site of the former Veemarkt (Cattle Market) in Utrecht-Oost. On the north side of the area (construction site E), self-build plots of various sizes ranging from 5.4 to 8.4 m have been released. ZigZag has a width of 5.4 m.

Genmab Research Building / Cepezed

Hana Abdel — Sun, 06 Sep 2020 02:00:00 +0000

Recently the opening of the new premises of biotech company Genmab took place at the Science Park Utrecht. The new head office of Genmab, which has branches in Copenhagen and Princeton - New Jersey, is an integral design of cepezed and cepezed interior. The new building has been designed on the basis of an open work culture and intensive interaction, also with external parties. With a high sustainability score and ample daylighting, the new building offers a comfortable, healthy and inspiring (work) environment for employees and visitors.

Poortgebouw Entrance Building / SVP Architectuur & Stedenbouw

Andreas Luco — Tue, 21 Jul 2020 10:00:00 +0000

The new entrance-building of the Waterboard Association ‘de Stichtse Rijnlanden’, has become the eye-catcher for the completely renewed wastewater sewage treatment plant in the city of Utrecht. Before, the sewage treatment plant was hidden away between dense green borders surrounding the plot. With the build of the new entrance building called ‘Gatebuilding’, the sewage treatment plant now clearly presents itself to the inhabitants of the city. The new plant uses a state of the art technology called Nereda. This biological process uses less energy for purification, takes up less space, and has a higher capacity. In addition to the design of the entrance-building, SVP was also responsible for the supervision of the whole site development and the integration of the new sewage treatment installation in new landscape design.