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KCN

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KC Noord could be described as a new building typology. The programme contains 2 primary schools (a catholic and a non-denominative) and 3 crèches. These form the KC Noord complex together with a community centre, a professional sports hall, a small theatre, a restaurant, and 44 dwellings.  

 The site is located in a large Vinex neighbourhood which forms part of the Leidsche Rijn.The project has at least 10 different clients, each with their own requirements. It was agreed at an early stage that rather than building separate buildings, one building would create the possibility for a more diverse environment for the different users. 

 The sports hall, which may not have direct daylight (a black box) has been placed in the centre of the complex and forms a central hall. Since it is a requirement by law that toddlers should have direct access to outdoor spaces, the crèches are situated on the ground floor and wrap around the sports hall. The floor above this - the middle floor - accommodates the public and shared spaces: the community centre, restaurant, after-school activities, sports hall tribunes and a theatre. This is the most important floor – an exchange space for the different users and public – and has been given optimum access by internal staircases and a large, external walkway. This covered walkway wraps around the whole first floor, and can be accessed from the ground by three large staircases and a long ramp. 

The 3 schools are situated on the uppermost floor and not only wrap around the side walls of the sports hall, but also partially sit on the roof of it. Each school occupies a side of the building, leaving one side free to act as a window to an outdoor playground on the roof. 

The whole building is clad in 5x5cm mosaic white mosaic tiles, with the exception of the first floor. Here, coloured glass and coloured epoxy floor material are applied – the only colour in this otherwise monochrome façade. Each user has been given a different color highlight on the internal walls and ceilings. The variation makes each part of the program identifiable from the exterior and breaks up the scale of the building. Together the colors form a childlike and fresh palette of “Licorice all sorts”. 

Client Municipality of Utrecht/Edwin Oostmeijer Projectontwikkeling
Location Vleuterweide
Size 11.200 m2
Design 2001-2004
Execution 2005-2007
Costs 11 million Euro




































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