nije skoalle

Leeuwarden(NL)

The Nije Skoalle project is part of the revitalization of the Bilgaard neighborhood on the northern edge of Leeuwarden. The district was designed in the 1960s by Broek and Bakema as a typical “cluster neighborhood” (“stempelwijk”). The site of the former Prins Mauritsschool, located within the central amenities strip, consists of two school buildings and a gymnasium. The schools will be preserved and transformed into 13 ground-oriented rental apartments, retaining the spatial quality of the generous and light-filled classrooms.

The site will be densified with 12 new ground-oriented owner-occupied homes, arranged in paired units. This repetitive layout spatially references the surrounding urban clusters from the original master plan, while programmatically enriching the neighborhood with new housing typologies. The detached arrangement of the compact housing blocks provides light and visual openness for both the converted school homes and the new houses, while each dwelling also has its own private garden. Informal pathways and collective green spaces connect to the original ideals of the “open society.”

For the façades the architects chose a warm white nuanced extruded brick from Hagemeister, featuring a central false joint.
(Source: Hund Falk Architecten)

Architect:           Hund Falk Architecten
Construction company: VDM
Photography:     Luuk Kramer
Supplier:             Hagemeister facade bricks by De Nis BV