Maretower
In the heart of the city Leiden, our design for Maretower 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 Maretower communicates on a city scale as well as on a neighborhood scale.
Render of the Maretower in Leiden, Netherlands
Concept render roof terrace
Project : Maretower (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)
concept for massing
massing model
Artist impression internal street
The program of the tower is giving a new programmatic balance 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.
The tower is designed with lots of sustainability measures in mind categorized in materials, energy, social and water, flora and fauna. Each category aims to make the building more future proof and a long lasting development that is embedded in the city fabric in a sustainable way and built in a responsible manner.
Environmental performance of the building
Artist impression from Marebuurt side
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.
Relief work of Jan Schoonhoven (b. 1914, Delft, The Netherlands, d. 1994, Delft)
concept render façade (relief)
concept model façade (relief)
color and relief sample concrete made with recycled aggregate
visualization of prefab concrete façade
visualization of prefab concrete façade