For many years Eindhoven’s landscape has been dominated by Philips factories, but those living in the Dutch city are about to notice a change in the air.

Residential and commercial complex De Bakermat (Dutch for ‘the cradle’) – a project led by SDK Real Estate – is planned for a patch of wasteland on the site of the former Auto Lichtstad garage, which is currently characterized by rubble, graffiti and weeds. The final design of the building resulted from a somewhat unorthodox process, which saw product designer Maarten Baas spearhead a competition between two groups working on individual proposals: The Sketch and House Up. Both teams represented the same local firm, Van Aken Architecten.

The Sketch emerged triumphant after a selection process involving a panel of experts (including the likes of Lidewij Edelkoort) and a public vote during Dutch Design Week 2015. The winning bid – which imparts a loose quality reminiscent of Baas’s Clay furniture – attempts to capture the history of Eindhoven: the union of six small villages that form one city. 

Photos SDK Vastgoed

maartenbaas.com
vanakenarchitecten.nl