Housing complex Zuiderduinen, The Hague | Atelier PRO architects

ZuiderDuinen is a housing complex in the Hague, located between the city and the dunes, surrounded by greenery. The complex is located next to the International School The Hague (ISH), at the corner of Ockenburgstraat and Wijndaelerweg. As the architect of the ISH, Atelier PRO was already very familiar with the area, which meant we found it straightforward to integrate the project in its surroundings.

The complex consists of 61 spacious owner-occupied and rental apartments, with a nursery and after-school-daycare on ground floor level. To preserve the open character of the area, we clustered the apartments in three separate residential blocks. The car park is kept out of sight, because it is incorporated in an artificial dune, which also houses the main entrances, storage rooms and technical facilities of the residential blocks. On the Wijndaelerweg, the ‘dune’ has an urban character, with shop windows; towards the dunes, it is visually connected to the surrounding landscape by means of a green ‘slope’. The nursery and after-school-daycare both face the International School. The top of the 'dune' was designed as a green deck.

Our plan responds to the rich landscape which surrounds the complex: we used the existing height differences to hide the car park and extended the greenery of the dunes on the decks. All apartments are optimally oriented. Floor-to-ceiling façades make for comfortable living, together with generous outdoor spaces – divided between balconies, green gardens on the deck, and spacious roof terraces in the setbacks on the top floors.

With ZuiderDuinen, atelier PRO designed a sculptural volume which manages to accomodate a very extensive programme into a very specifc setting in a qualitative way: a compact, all-sided building that responds to the existing qualities. Here, people can live in the city surrounded by - and with respect for - nature.