AckersWoude is a former greenhouse production area of ca. 45 ha which will be transformed into a new residential district of Pijnacker with ca. 1250 dwellings. The new district will use existing site qualities and will correspond well with the rural character of Pijnacker.
The project area has a convenient location just outside the city center and next to the metro station. Most of the existing houses of gardeners will be preserved and a patchwork of new development will be realized surrounding them. Two distinct living environments will be realized: the village and the countryside. Both environments create opportunity for new living concepts suitable for starters as well as elderly people and families.
The focus of this urban study was mainly on the village as a first stage of development. The housing will be structured in orthogonal building blocks with parking in the courtyards. A sculptured façade of every block will bring variety in a street view and possibility for different housing typologies. The atmosphere of the village will be enhanced by intimate streets with almost no cars and green places suitable for play-
grounds. Every house will have a small front garden which will provide possibilities for social interaction in the neighborhood and which also gives a green atmosphere in the streets.
The meandering streets of the village will contrast with long water and view lines that are characteristic for the existing polder landscape and also kept in the countryside. The system of public spaces will connect this new residential area with the center of Pijnacker. The major bicycle route will connect the shopping center of Pijnacker with the metro stop, the new village with her village-square and main playgrounds of AckersWoude. It will become a distinctive ribbon marked by pollard willows planted along side.
location: Pijnacker, The Netherlands
design: 2013
client: Site development (municipality Pijnacker)