De Hartenrust Residential Building
De Hartenrust is a new social housing building located on the bend of the River Rotte in Rotterdam. The project combines tower apartments, townhouses, and corner houses into a versatile sculptural form that marks the transition between the dense Oude Noorden neighbourhood and the green, liveable riverbanks.
The building contains 36 affordable social housing units, including family homes and apartments. Despite their compact size, the apartments are generous in character, with sheltered loggias and wide French balconies overlooking the city, as well as access to a communal roof garden. The single-family homes have front doors facing the street and private roof terraces.
The building’s sturdy sculptural presence is softened by a warm and rich material palette. The façades are made of robust brickwork, articulated by an alternating rhythm of vertical, light-coloured windows and a green glazed brick plinth that relates to the surrounding 19th-century neighbourhood.
De Hartenrust contributes to a healthy and liveable city through passive, well-insulated, and future-proof homes with natural ventilation and green water-retention roofs.
Versatile sculpture
De Hartenrust continues the urban sequence of taller buildings near the bridges over the Rotte. The building is composed of three sections and, with its distinctive corners, forms a versatile sculpture at the scale of the street, the neighbourhood, and the city. The nine-storey tower acts as a landmark on the Rotte. The stepped cantilevering of the plinth, middle, and top responds subtly and elegantly to the bend in the river. The four-storey corner houses mark the street intersections with a classic stepped chamfer. Between the tower and the corner houses, three-storey townhouses along the street emphasize the individuality of each home.
Generous social housing
De Hartenrust celebrates the rich tradition of social housing while responding to a contemporary need for diversity and spatial generosity. The building offers a range of housing types, from large family homes to compact apartments. Despite their efficient footprints, the apartments feel spacious thanks to their corner positions and wide French balconies, which bring light and air into every room. In the family homes, the kitchen, living room, and bedroom span the full width of the house, while the floors are connected by a spacious open staircase.
Spaces for social interaction
The building creates opportunities for residents to meet each other and opens itself generously to the surrounding area. The double-height entrance hall forms a welcoming central entrance, where the various facilities and bicycle parking areas are immediately visible. The mezzanine floor lends itself to communal use and activities. In front of the entrance, a small green square with benches overlooks the water. The shared roof terrace, nestled among the treetops, offers space for outdoor activities with panoramic views. The family homes, with their front doors and kitchen-diners facing the street through large windows, activate the pavement and encourage interaction with the neighbourhood.
Warm and rich materialisation
The sturdy sculptural form of the building is softened by a warm and rich material expression that relates to the surrounding 19th-century neighbourhood. The three building sections are finished in nuanced yellow brickwork set on a plinth of green glazed bricks. Jointing in two shades of grey creates subtle differentiation between the building sections, recessed windows, and indentations in the cornice. Light olive-yellow window frames and railings create a calm ton-sur-ton effect with the two-tone brickwork. Brass details in the lighting and house numbering give the building a rich and authentic character.
Future-proof
The building contributes to a healthy and liveable city by being future-proof. Minimal energy demand is achieved through passive design, heat-accumulating and well-insulated homes, built-in sunshades, and natural ventilation. Green water-retention terraces and roofs help mitigate flooding and drought, improve the living environment, and enhance biodiversity.
