This building was the first large complex realized by MVRDV.
The client, a large housing corporation, had made general studies of the arrangement of 100 units for elderly people, as part of intensifying a 60’s neighborhood. They wanted to have a gallery-type circulation but were not able to fit in the units in acceptable way. So we were invited to solve the problem.
At our first meeting, one model drew attention. It was a half jokingly attempt, where we glued the houses that would not fit inside the gallery block to the other side of the volume.
The client immediately understood the potential, and we got 3 weeks to ‘make it work’, in terms of budget. Together with a creative quantity surveyor and a structural engineer, we were able to produce a budget analysis that did not exceed their limit, and we could continue with the project.