Marga Klompé Building: wood, stone, ecology, and design

Named after the first woman elected Prime Minister in the Netherlands, the Marga Klompé Building shares in its architecture and functions the social commitment and vision in which education and active engagement are the keys to a healthy society. The design of the building, the first of its kind in Europe to be built using structural wood, blends in with its modernist neighbors with its 21st-century touch in a harmonious contrast with the lush natural surroundings

Model of innovation in construction techniques and energy-saving strategies

Completed in 2023, the Marga Klompé Building is one of the architecture projects by Powerhouse Company. Situated within the wooded university campus, the building occupies a 33-meter square plot and houses the foyer, an auditorium, 13 classrooms, and self-managed study spaces for approximately 1000 students. Its aesthetics engage with and draw inspiration from the modernism of the nearby iconic Cobbenhagen Building from 1962 by Jos Bedaux, but it transports it into the 21st century through the innovation of construction techniques and energy-saving strategies

Spacious areas with extremely high acoustic performance

The structure of the Marga Klompé Building is built using an innovative dry construction system: CLT floors reinforced by the ribs of wooden beams. The result is spacious areas with extremely high acoustic performance. The cubic shape of the building allows for minimal heat dispersion, which is optimized by the well-insulated envelope. The uniqueness of the insulation is that it is partially made from recovered denim jeans. The climatic and energy strategies adopted in the construction have earned it the BREEAM Outstanding certification and achieved almost total energy neutrality

Portuguese stone, deep openings, and welcoming heart in wood

In pleasant contrast with the wooded surroundings, this architecture by Powerhouse Company dresses its facades with removable slabs of Portuguese stone. Deep and generous openings, enriched by vertical wooden "blades", reveal the warm heart of the building and the lively university life that takes place inside. The immediate surrounding landscape was designed by Studio REDD and doubles the ecological commitment of the construction: a gentle slope that reaches the Marga Klompé Building integrates pedestrian paths, greenery, and a rainwater drainage wadi sown with wildflowers

Gallery

Photo credits
Top image, content and gallery images: Sebastian van Damme

Companies credits
Client: Tilburg University
Partner Architect: Stefan Prins
Associate Project Architect: Janneke van der Velden
Team: Iván Guerrero, Romano van den Dool, Martijn Ravia, Sanja Kralj, Bjørn
Andreassen, Erwin van Strien, Gert Ververs, Giovanni Coni, Rafael Zarza García,
Robert Cuijpers
Constructor: BREED Integrated Design
MEP consultant: Royal HaskoningDHV
Building physics: Royal HaskoningDHV
Cost consultant: Multibouwadvies B.V.
Consultant BREEAM: Rienks Bouwmanagement
Geotechnical engineer: SOCOTEC Nederland
Wood supplier: Binderholz
Contractor: BAM Bouw en Techniek
Landscape design: Studio REDD
Urban planning: Studio Hartzema

PEOPLE

Powerhouse Company

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