Residental Development | Apartment building | Woonbedrijf Ieder1| Deventer | The Netherlands | KCAP

'Het Baken' (The Beacon) is part of Deventer's vinex area Vijfhoek, a residential development dominated by two and three-storey houses. In order to relieve this monotony Het Baken presents itself as a highly distinctive residential building realised on one of the last free plots. The block has the appearance of a boulder, an asymmetrical cube with a skin of slate whose massive form provides space for 22 apartments and a daycare centre. The canted, faceted contour was arrived at on the basis of sight lines and the effect of shadow. In terms both scale of design and materialisation, Het Baken cuts a striking figure. The block rises cliff-like above the bland vinex landscape, providing a welcome landmark from whatever direction it is viewed.
The ground floor acts as a transparent plinth, with the building volume jutting out on two sides above it. The plinth houses the daycare centre whose glazed facades provides plenty of contact with the surroundings........more