Bostorens Bosrijk Eindhoven
Bosrijk is a residential area west of the city of Eindhoven and located on a former militairy defense site. Sustainability, spatial quality and leading architecture are important starting points. Living in Bosrijk is designed as ‘sculptures in a garden' – houses are carefully fitted into the existing landscape. The space around the houses is in fact the garden of the inhabitants of the neighbourhood.
For a small plot next to an existing natural rainwater infiltration facility the office designed a sculpture with five single-family homes, in which the idea of 'living in a forest landscape' was the leitmotif. Project Bostorens (i.e. forest towers) consists of a series of connected volumes of different sizes, forming a central, communal court enclosed by the houses. In relation to the surrounding landscape, the ensemble has a 'softening' height meandering building boundary. The fordable court is connected to the surrounding environment by four entrances and passages, connecting to the existing road and path structure around.
The different volumes are in a balanced relationship with each other so that sunlight and views are optimal. The composition is such that the sculpture as a unit is strengthened. The private outdoor areas are framed by a low partition on the outside of the homes and form an intermediary between the houses and the public space of the forest landscape. The facades are perforated with high standing, large and small square and elongated horizontal window openings, placed in such a way that they enhance the abstract composition. The facade finish is made of untreated bamboo, which will age nicely and evenly over time. The collective court and the private gardens were designed by landscape architect Studio Blad. The court is equipped with recycled Swedish granite boulders with wide grass joints, so that rainwater can infiltrate well. Several plant and tree compartments are planted, and a grown tree is placed in the center of the courtyard, accompanied by a concrete seating element with a top surface of polished concrete.
Each house is made up of a composition of one high volume, two lower volumes and a private garden located on the outer edge adjacent to the surrounding landscape. On the ground floor are the garage for cars and bicycles, the front door in a recessed niche and the living room and kitchen in two concatenated volumes, which gives an interesting diagonal spatial dynamic. The bedrooms, bathrooms and installation space are located on the upper floors. Three of the five homes have a roof terrace on the first floor, two other homes have a free height of four and a half meters on the first floor, which challenges a creative use. The homes meet high energy performance requirements. Solar shading has been included in the project and detailed within the façade. Solar panels and heat pump are out of sight on the highest roofs, behind a raised eaves. Each house has an underground water reservoir for collecting rainwater, with which the toilets are flushed and the plants are watered. In case of heavy rainfall, any excess becomes rainwater collected in the adjacent natural rainwater drainage. In this way, the project is prepared for current and future climatic conditions.
