Still totally contemporary after 18 years

North Beacon residential building

SVK fiber cement façade panels not only give façades a modern and timeless look, but also guarantee a maintenance-friendly façade and a long lifespan. This is proven, for example, at the Noorderbaken residential building in Hoogvliet, where the facades have been providing a unique look and feel since 2006, in keeping with the surroundings and with a subtle wink to the former poplar forest. The Noorderbaken residential building was designed in 2003 by DKV Architects. Together with project architect Herman de Kovel, now architect and partner at De Kovel Architecten, we look back on an exceptional design, which in terms of size, scale and atmosphere is still perfectly in keeping with the spirit of the times.

Residential building Noorderbaken was commissioned by housing corporation Woonbron Maasoevers and houses 117 apartments. "At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Hoogvliet area was thoroughly tackled and renewed," De Kovel looks back. "Woonbron Maasoevers' ambition was to develop a varied residential program for a broad target group at this location. One of the projects within this ambition was located at Oedevliet Park and was to become the northwestern beacon for the urban plan." 

Noorderbaken consists of three building sections for three target groups, he says. "In addition to owner-occupied and rental apartments, part of Noorderbaken was intended for 'to live'; a form of housing popular at the time for middle-income residents that was intended to fill the gap between owner-occupied and rental. The lower middle section houses 27 rental apartments and a communal space for a housing group. Because the building sections differ in height, the massiveness of the volume is put into perspective. It also gives the building a sculptural appearance, with a framework of black natural slates providing the desired connection."

Green character

The Noorderbaken residential building is located at the meeting point of the high embankment of the Oude Maas River and the embankment of the ramp to the Spijkenisse Bridge. "The proximity to the riverside park along the Oude Maas and the many tall trees give the site a green character, which is also reflected in the park-like roof terrace and façade finishes."
says De Kovel. 

"On the south side, the facade is deliberately kept very open. The façade image here is determined by the horizontal lines of the balconies, from which residents can look down on the Oude Maas very nicely. In a number of places, these lines are interrupted by double-height outdoor spaces and by a beating rain of rough tree trunks, which refer to the former poplar forest at this location. And rough tree trunks are also installed against the parking garage." 

On the busier north side, the glass facades are interspersed with floor-to-ceiling fiber cement cladding panels by SVK in five specific colors from the Ornimat color range and in an abstract composition."

White, two shades of gray and two shades of green 

De Kovel drew his inspiration for the north façade from Brazil, where abstract façade designs are more often chosen. "This appealed to me enormously," he says. "Moreover, a big advantage of SVK's Ornimat fiber cement facade panels is that the panels are also colored on the sides, which makes the color pattern stand out even better. Based on various color studies, I opted for panels in white, two shades of gray and two shades of green, again making the connection to nature and the poplar forest. At the level of the emergency stairwells and escape balconies, specific perforations have been made in the panels, so that residents can look outside to some extent and also to ensure a slight natural ventilation. Thus, appearance and safety come together nicely in this project."