Dutch architectural firm, Studio Komma, in collaboration with concept-developer The Men of Foam, have won the Lot 2 Urban Lab Challenge, with their proposal, ZIP2516. Located in The Hague, The Netherlands, in an upcoming living and working district, the project “seeks to create an iconic building that is an accelerator for the transformation of an industrial area into a new energetic urban district.”
ZIP2516 will house a variety of programs, including social and commercial entrepreneurship and public space. The ground floor of the building will accommodate the flagship store of social entrepreneur, Happy Tosti. The first floor of the building will feature a public square and “urban playground,” with office and start-up space on the floors above, and a “gin bar with roof terrace” on top.
Designed to reuse an old parking garage almost completely, the project makes use of existing components like floors, beams, and railings for its ground floor and urban playground. Furthermore, these “donor parts” are additionally made to be removable, and reusable on other sites.
Because the competition for the site called for a 10-year temporary design that could potentially become permanent, the ZIP2516 team was “challenged to think about temporary structures that have a permanent high quality.” With this in mind, the design concept is based on the idea of Legos, preservation, and adaptability.
Smart structural joints ensure that the building can be dismantled at an elementary level. After ten years, if needed, the whole building can be moved and re-mounted at a new location to boost the urban and/or regional economy described the architects.
Lead Architects: Maarten Thewissen, Joost van Rooijen
Project location: Melkwegstraat, The Hague, The Netherlands
Completion Year: (expected) 2018
Gross Built Area (square meters or square foot): 3000m2
News via: Studio Komma.
