Leeuwesteyn North

Leeuwesteyn North will become a new residential suburb with urban allure in the Leidsche Rijn district of Utrecht. Strootman has developed a vision in collaboration with DOK architecten. This vision links Leidsche Rijn not only physically but also mentally with the city by designing compact, relatively high-density neighbourhoods and intimate, urban public spaces.

Location

Leidsche Rijn, Utrecht

Principal

Gemeente Utrecht

Partners

DOK architecten

Surface Area

22 ha

The buildings are placed towards the flanks of the Willem Alexander park. Taller buildings are located on the higher land, lower ones near the water. This takes advantage of the difference in elevation and heightens its drama. At the same time the situation beside the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal, in combination with the un-Dutch difference in height created by the A2 motorway tunnel, provides an opportunity to feel the landscape presence at many points in Leeuwesteyn North. Our urban development vision uses both factors optimally, and in doing so keeps pace with the urban design rhythm of Leidsche Rijn Centre and the alternation between buildings and parking lots.

The plan has been made adaptable and financially manageable by incorporating a double flexibility: at the level of the field and of the neighbourhood. The framework of robust public space and the clear traffic structure ensure scope to play with the location of the individual building plots. In this way the layout of the plan can be filled in depending on demand. The neighbourhoods are composed of building fields with a basic 50 x 70 m module, enabling greater flexibility in how they are filled in. The plan affords space for a total of 500 to 1,200 homes.

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