KJ Plein

Our design for KJ Plein – presented with DELVA Landscape Architects and developers Amvest and Synchroon – won the competition by doing far more than simply providing great places to live. On an urban level, the architecture, consisting of two towers linked by a ‘valley’, makes a powerful yet polished statement that acts as a unifying element in a disjointed architectural landscape. The ground floor, with its organic forms and natural materials, enriches public space by becoming a welcoming new entrance hall for the station behind it – and for the city itself. Meanwhile the square outside is transformed by the addition of greenery, a restaurant pavilion, and a fluid transition to Koekamp Park.

With its fluted, rectilinear columns in lightweight concrete, the facades of our building’s towers echo the formal classicism seen in The Hague’s administrative architecture. On the ground floor, the dynamic station hall presents a bold contrast, with a sinuous wood ceiling and expanses of curved glass. Above the entrance, the apartments’ glass loggias present a streamlined finish, broken by compact protruding balconies that give a human touch. The curved elements of the hall are reflected in the staggered, U-shaped silhouette of the central valley section, with its tumbling green spaces.