Maretoren with Leiden in the background
Maretoren
In the heart of the city Leiden, the Maretoren fits right in the rich tradition of textured and tactile buildings of Leiden. In close proximity to the train station and the city's historical center the tower offers stunning views over Leiden. It's internal public street will be the new connection between the metropolitan and congested Schipholweg and the small scale of the adjacent neighborhood Marebuurt. Stacking down as a layer cake with lush green for the local flora and fauna, paired with outdoor green space for residents with breathtaking views of the city, the Maretoren communicates on a city scale as well as on a neighborhood scale.
The program of the tower is giving a new programmatic impulse for the now monofunctional Schipholweg. On the ground floor there will be art studios, a restaurant, a gym and an entrance lobby on top of the basement parking. Floor 2 and 3 will be commercial with a open office floor plan. Going further up there is space for affordable housing with gardens, mid income apartments and all the way in the top high end apartments with stunning views to the surrounding and the historic city center.
1:200 model
1:200 model
Project : Maretoren (mixed use tower)
Location : Leiden, Netherlands
Location : Leiden, Netherlands
Program : Housing, offices, public green.
Size: 25.000 m2
Client : Urban Development Partners B.V., Citystone group
Status : In progress (2022-current)
Client : Urban Development Partners B.V., Citystone group
Status : In progress (2022-current)
Design team : MatterMakers in collaboration with A-W-R,
INBO, Dijk&co Landschapsarchitectuur.
Collaborators: Municipality of Leiden, Vivid vision (renders)
Massing concept
Façade close up
Community garden on 9th floor
Maretoren from the Mare neighborhood
Relief work of Jan Schoonhoven (b. 1914, Delft, The Netherlands, d. 1994, Delft)
The design of the façade is inspired by minimalist artist Jan Schoonhoven, known for his papier-maché reliefs. Although the inspiration is from a minimalist, the execution of the design of the façade panels have a lot of dept and 3 dimensionality. The façade blocks will be made from recycled waste mixed in concrete and are designed to last for more than 100 years. The color of the façade is inspired by the color and richness of sandstone blocks and relate to the historical colors or Leiden. By stacking the façade blocks in an alternating rhythm the tower is 'dancing' from a distance and avoids being as straight forward and boring as the grid of the tower requires to be for its functionality.
Street level with artist studios and a public garden