MVRDV's Nieuw Bergen Residential Development in Eindhoven Kicks off Construction

The MVRDV-designed seven-building complex Nieuw Bergen has begun construction in the Eindhoven neighborhood of De Bergen and will completely alter the area’s character. When finished, Nieuw Bergen will add 237 dwellings to the city, including affordable apartments to high-end condos.

The New Nieuw Bergen

The many slanting roofs of Nieuw Bergen contribute to the city’s distinctive appearance. They are the consequence of sun cuts, created by drawing illusory 45-degree slopes from the base of neighboring buildings to guarantee that interior rooms and public areas receive ample natural light. Three of the building’s roofs have greenhouses housing community gardens, proving that the building’s sloping surfaces are well suited for green roofs and photovoltaic panels.

According to MVRDV co-founder Jacob van Rijs, “To maximize sunlight, views, privacy, and limited street-level visibility, the volumes in Nieuw Bergen are restricted in height and are required to adhere to a stringent planning standard. Also, with the help of pocket parks, vegetation is evenly dispersed across the area, and everyone may enjoy the resulting cozy vibe.”

Each of the seven structures is called after one of the seven primary colors in the rainbow. Indigo is the highest building in the complex, and Orange is home to the community’s 48 affordable units. All three of these designs—Bleu, Jaune, and Vert—are adaptations of preexisting structures; the last two, in particular, are revitalizations of legendary 20th-century structures that were once used as police stations.
These redesigned buildings create a steady increase in size for the project, with the older structures helping Nieuw Bergen blend in with the nearby outlet mall and the newer structures rising progressively behind them.

Together, the reuse strategy, green roofs, and renewable energy generation seek to make Nieuw Bergen a model for ecological urbanization, cutting down on the carbon footprint needed to expand the area and the carbon emissions from building operations. MVRDV was commissioned by SDK Vastgoed (VolkerWessels) to create Nieuw Bergen. As work begins, 85 percent of the available units have already been sold.