Block 5

Due to economic fluctuations, the components of Blok 5's original programme have been frequently changed, switched or moved. In this final scheme, a high rise block is located on the banks of the Weerwater, the lake beside which the new town centre is located. This tower consists of a rectilinear planned apartment block placed above a trapezium-shaped base that contains a Grand Café. These two contrasting volumes are morphed together to form one continuous building. At the other end of the site, a shopping 'warehouse' bridges over a new internal street. The main shopping thoroughfare of the Diagonaal links the two. While the long stretch of this street is subdivided into individual units, the flowing shop fronts and torqued surfaces of the elevations unite the long façade.