Eschmarke Centre, Enschede, NL
This mixed-use, retail-led project occupies a prominent location in the centre of Eschmarke, a small town on the outskirts of Enschede. The challenge was to maintain a simple plan while balancing the needs for private and public elements on a small site.
This was resolved by placing the private parking above the shops in a communal court. The court is linked directly to the street by a broad slope that can be used by cars, cyclists and pedestrians.
The slope extends as a broad spiralling staircase that gently rises up from the parking court to the upper levels of the building, linking apartments and private roof gardens by means of generous walkways with light wells, sun decks and private terraces.. The spiralling combination of these conditions lends the building its strong silhouette against a backdrop of existing beech trees.
The tapered form establishes a clear orientation to the building whereby private domestic spaces face west and commercial activities facing east. At street level, the ‘spiral’ concept extends around the building to organise the public parking within a playful design of hard and soft landscaping. As one moves around the building, the curved facade, with its metal cladding and vertical timber profiles, produces an intriguing optical effect in which different materials interplay to create a changing appearance. The optical effect helps to generate a special identity for the building.
Eschmarke Centre, Enschede, NL
Client
ING Real Estate
Programme
2,200 m2 retail
27 apartments
93 car parking spaces
Site area
0.5 ha
Building costs
EUR 5,100,000