Residential Building Vijfhoven

In the Leiden residential suburb of Haagwegkartier, post-war slab volumes of apartments are arranged in neat clusters, surrounded by park landscape and quiet roads. Part of the city’s drive for new developments, this project adds to one of the neighbourhood’s clusters. With the goal of improving the relationship between the buildings and the public space around them as well as increasing density, Keizer Koopmans proposed a modular-based construction with a commercial plinth and residential programme above.

Based on a series of modules, each completed with their own subassemblies according to function, apartments can be composed of 4 modules, producing 3 apartment types for the building to address different needs. This variation in apartment sizes is reflected in the north-facing access gallery, where front doors jump back and forth in the width of the walkway depending on the size of each unit. In the south, balconies with winter gardens open onto quiet new green space, linked to the existing biodiversity network. The wooden shingle facade, along with the courtyard-like gardens are informed by the neighbouring buildings, but also traditional local orchards and farmhouses. The construction is local and bio-based, making use of timber construction, along with timber foundations, as well as flax insulation and nature inclusive design elements, bound together with simple and coherent materials.