Reyp Snellerpoort Woerden

mix of living and Woerden patterns

‘Reyp’ for Snellerpoort Woerden combines tranquillity and liveliness, city and landscape. With a mix of housing typologies, functions and social connection, it forms a contemporary station neighbourhood. Here you live in harmony with nature, with space, relaxation and connection.

The design was created through collaboration between several architects. Within this project of 92 homes, ZOETMULDER designed thirteen dwellings: eleven duplex houses and two ground-based family houses. These two types of dwellings vary in elaboration and are each designed with their own design intention.

Around the gate are three ground-floor and four upper floor duplex houses. All homes have an entrance both on the Woerden street side and on the green inner courtyard, creating liveliness around the building. The decorated brick architecture with yellow accent colour gives a human scale to the plinth and is richly emphasised around and within the gate. Brick patterns were sought that suit the identity of Woerden. The façade has a rigid layout with piers like a straight polder layout.

The façades have their own identity that builds on the surroundings and their history. The plinth and roof edges feature a wavy pattern that reflects the water controlled by locks and pumping stations around Woerden. Horizontal layers of brickwork were found in historic (gate) buildings of Woerden. And finally, at the gate itself, there are three diamond-shaped patterns taken from the old coat of arms of Woerden. Façade artworks are characteristic of the Woerden streetscape and serve as inspiration to give the building its identity. In addition to the Woerden diamond each building also has its own unique façade brick.

The ground-based family house in the north-west corner are designed for contemporary living with an inviting entrance. It has a small recess with a canopy, a view through to the interior, an integrated planter and a place to temporarily put down packages or groceries. The ground floor offers a spacious kitchen-dining area with a large window overlooking the inner garden, and beneath the void there is room for a long table to host friends. On the other side, the living floor features a cosy lounge corner with a window seat where you can relax together.

The outer shell is made from leftover pallets of bricks from the entire construction project. There are always bricks left over from a large building project. By collecting and reusing them within this housing block, we ensure that no good material goes to landfill. Sustainable and beautiful, as it creates a lively horizontal play of lines on the façade. An aesthetic that arises from a sustainable approach to the building process.