AFFORDABLE HOUSING THAT is as beautifully designed as it is functional is not something you come across every day.
In a small town called Beekbergen in the Netherlands, there existed a problem familiar to lots of Irish people – a lack of affordable housing for young single people and accessible housing for older people.
So architecture firm, Casanova+Hernandez went about designing a development that provided for the needs of a diverse clientele.
The most striking part of the project, externally at least, is of course the gingko-covered facade which helps to provide privacy to the balconies and also visually connects the park with the building itself.
The architects took a lot of care with this printed facade making sure that each panel is unique so as not to create repetition and also to reduce the visual impact on the surroundings.
Internally things are just as interesting as externally. The architects used a circular design of concentric ‘rings’ to structure the design of the apartments.
First, there’s a vertical circulation core in the centre of the block, then a second ring of the ‘services’ of the apartments (toilets, bathrooms kitchens, storage) and then a third ‘ring’ comprising of flexible living space that can be reorganised to suit the needs of the occupants. The fourth ring is the outdoor spaces of the apartments – the gingko leaf covered balconies.
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