Regiocentrale Zuid in Maasbracht, The Netherlands by Wiel Arets Architects

The river Meuse serves many different purposes. Next to being an important transport route for inland shipping, its banks accommodate agriculture, plants, wildlife and recreational activity. The water that flows through the Meuse is used as drinking water, for industrial processes and as cooling water. Its summer bed is an important source of sand and gravel. In the event of flooding the danger must be gone against.

Regiocentrale Zuid

• Architects: Wiel Arets Architects
• Project: Regiocentrale Zuid
• Location: Maasbracht, The Netherlands
• Project Team: Wiel Arets, Bettina Kraus, Rob Willemse, Julius Klatte
• Collaborators: Harold Hermans
• Budget: € 7.416.000
• Software used: Drawn using Vectorworks and renderings are created using Photoshop

Exterior View

• Date of Design: 2008
• Date of Completion: 2011
• Client: Rijkswaterstaat Maaswerken
• Program: Control centre for locks and water traffic
• Area: 1850 m2 bvo
• Consultants: Palte (construction); WRI (installations & building physics)

Exterior View

The project Maaswerken combines the coordination of all aims regarding water management. The Regiocentrale, from which barges, bridges and sluices between Maastricht and Venlo are to be steered, is a base part of the long-term development. Therefore the building is located at a half distance in Maasbracht along the bike and walkway of the harbour, offering a visual connection to the Juliankanal and Centrumboulevard. Its prominent position corresponds with its multiple functions. Beside the mechanical instrumentation, a lobby, a nautical and training centre and public educational facilities are accommodated.

Interior View

The recognisable polygonal volume, with its rounded down corners hovering over the water, is shaped up from the centrally placed operational space.  As well as public and staff entrances under the generous cantilevers are accessed via bridges. An inner void filled with water defines the core of the building. Its water level climbs and falls according to the height of the water surface in the sluizen. The fact of 7 days and 24 hour service induces the necessity of privacy measures and residence qualities. Blackout curtains arrange for the particular changing acoustic, light and viewing conditions. A roof terrace offering a panoramic view of the beautiful and vast surroundings compensates for the absence of a related ground garden.

Site Plan

Tags: Maasbracht, The Netherlands

Categories: Commercial Building, Photoshop, Vectorworks

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 24th, 2011 at 3:52 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.