High Park
Historic Revival for Elevated Living
For many years, the historic ‘Kruisgebouw’ stood vacant until we revitalized this landmark building into a dynamic residential and work campus. High Park represents a unique and entirely gas-free transformation from a single-purpose office building into high-quality apartments offering stunning views over the city of Arnhem. The removal of the ancillary buildings highlights the beautiful brutalist architecture by Broek and Bakema.
We continued the design philosophy of Broek & Bakema, ensuring the building is easily adaptable to the future—and now, it is.’
Transformation — We stripped down the building, revealing its brutalist beauty. By elevating the volume, we created space for a public park.
👻Stripped Down
👻Dutch
Heritage
Heritage
👻Dutch
Heritage
Heritage
This transformation breathes new life into the complex, which was once perceived as drab and inaccessible, making it now open and inviting. We chose to preserve and enhance the valuable qualities of Broek and Bakema’s brutalist design to improve accessibility. By reducing parking spaces and removing the lower west and north buildings, we created space for a public park that flows seamlessly under the main building. This enhances the prominence of the main building’s shape and makes it a connecting element in the area, rather than an obstacle. Consequently, the building now adds significant value to the living comfort of Arnhem’s residents. The Kruisgebouw houses 281 apartments, while the East Building contains 153, and the West Building is still under development.
👻Generous Gesture
With this office transformation, we could provide generous proportions such as exceptionally high ceilings and large windows, creating loft-style apartments with stunning city views and spacious balconies.’