The previously overlooked downtown area of Smakkelaarsveld, next to Utrecht’s central railway station, is being redeveloped into a much-needed public park and residential complex. Arup has been part of a consortium including Lingotto, Studioninedots, ZUS, VKZ, working alongside the Utrecht city council to deliver this transformative project. Upon completion, the Smakkelaarsveld area will be renamed ‘Smakkelaarspark’.
The development is centred around a new green space, surrounded by residential blocks, offices and parking, with the extension of the Leidsche Rijn canal to restore the waterway connection for boats between the city centre and the Merwede canal in the city’s Munt area. A soon-to-be-operational light rail connection will also run beneath the entire site.
Lingotto's decision to team up with Arup on this project, was based on our successful collaboration on HAUT (a timber residential high-rise), which was also designed around high sustainability objectives. At Smakkelaarspark we proved again that the combination of digital technology and human insight is the best way to produce unique, sustainable urban development solutions. The consortium’s winning bid led to optimal design against multiple KPIs, including sustainability and environmental objectives, as well as a range of commercial residential goals.
The development aims to make Smakkelaarspark as energy efficient and eye catching as possible. ©Lingotto, Arup, Studioninedots, ZUS, VKZ
Digital design edge: improving quality using parametric design
Building on reclaimed land next to a railway poses a challenging environment. The project had to accommodate a bus tramway lane traversing the site, together with the waterway connection, as well as the profusion of cables overhead and pipes underground. We used parametric design approaches to develop a scheme design that made the optimal trade-off between all the constraints, and the client and community’s wider goals.
The range of KPIs that parametric design can synthesise is almost boundless. How much sunlight, noise levels, residents’ views, buildings’ energy use – we were then able to run millions of design iterations to identify the very best solution. For the apartment buildings, this enabled us to develop orientation, maximising the amount of sunlight exposure and views over Utrecht’s landmark church tower the Dom. Providing views of the park from the apartments also enhances social safety.
Sustainability: solar energy
The scheme has also been designed to be energy-neutral and promote wellbeing, thanks to the proximity of homes to green spaces. Sun exposure was a critical design factor, determining the optimal orientation of the photovoltaic panels on the roofs and façades, with more than 50% of the buildings’ energy expected to be generated sustainably. The building mass is south-facing in order to maximise sunlight and heat harvesting during the winter months, whilst automatic sun protection in summer keeps the heat outside. Greywater from the homes will be reused as rinse water for plumbing in the public functions.
Three residential identities
The residential development has been designed to suit different kinds of people, each catering to a specific target group to meet their needs: the Port building, the Park building and the Quay building. The Port building consists of rental compact properties designed for a new generation of city dwellers. The Park building consists of exclusive apartments and penthouses with panoramic views of the park and the city. Finally, the Quay building is an adaptable live-work space designed to respond to several possible user groups.
Downtown Utrecht's new go-to area
The goal was to make Smakkelaarspark a new destination in its own right, with a variety of amenities servicing commuters, from buses, trains, trams, boats as well as cyclists. Office workers, city visitors, travellers and residents will benefit from spaces that create a varied but vibrant new district within Utrecht.
Our contribution to the design of the residential buildings included noise protection from the tracks. ©Lingotto, Arup, Studioninedots, ZUS, VKZ
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