Heart Of The Waalsprong Housing Complex / De Zwarte Hond

Architects: De Zwarte Hond
Area: 67000 m²
Year: 2024
Photographs: Eva Bloem
Landscape Design: De Urbanisten
Construction Company: Janssen de Jong, Dura Vermeer Bouw Midden West B.V
Project Team (Urban Plan and Donk and Elft Apartment Blocks): De Zwarte Hond
Architecture Team: BRINK architecture & urbanism, Korth Tielens Architects, Level of Detail, MONADNOCK
Engineering Company: Royal HaskoningDHV
City: Nijmegen
Country: The Netherlands

Heart of the Waalsprong housing complex designed by De Zwarte Hond in Nijmegen, Netherlands has established a new urban center for Nijmegen-Noord by integrating housing, retail, and public space into a cohesive, climate-adaptive development. Commissioned by AM and VanWonen, the project includes the Donk and Elft apartment blocks by De Zwarte Hond and additional housing designed by BRINK, Korth Tielens, Level of Detail, and Monadnock. The design transforms a large shopping area into a livable town center by combining mixed-use ground-floor plinths with varied housing types and public space. De Urbanisten’s landscape plan connects the central square to the Waal River through gardens, squares, and a wadi. Prioritizing pedestrians and cyclists, the plan supports local energy through over 1,200 PV panels and eliminates natural gas use. The Donk and Elft blocks use setbacks, roof articulation, and material variation to reduce scale and establish architectural intimacy. A shared commitment to red-tinted brick, intricate detailing, and references to Oscar Leeuw’s work reinforces local identity and cohesion throughout the development.

Heart of the waalsprong housing complex / de zwarte hond

The Heart of the Waalsprong serves as the new center of Nijmegen-Noord, integrating shopping, housing, and community facilities. De Zwarte Hond was commissioned by AM and VanWonen to develop the urban plan and to design the Donk and Elft apartment blocks. Other residential buildings in the area were designed by BRINK architecture & urbanism, Korth Tielens Architects, Level of Detail, and Monadnock. De Urbanisten was responsible for the landscape design, which links the central square to the Waal River through a green corridor featuring a wadi, public squares, and gardens.

The character of a pleasant town
The central design challenge for the Heart of the Waalsprong was how to transform a large, newly developed shopping center into an inviting and livable town-like environment. This goal was realized by integrating a vibrant mix of shops and community facilities in the ground-floor plinth, paired with diverse housing types and a high-quality, climate-adaptive public space. Urban planner and partner Jeroen de Willigen stated, “Coziness can also be contemporary. The area has a complex layering of functions—retail, supermarket, parking, logistics, and housing. But to make it feel cozy, that complexity needs to be resolved in a way that creates a kind of everyday, natural architecture where people feel at home and want to be.” He emphasized their pride in the outcome, noting that the neighborhood immediately felt successful, consistently maintaining a warm and active atmosphere, even during quieter times like Monday afternoons.

Visibly sustainable
Cyclists and pedestrians are central to the overall area plan, supported by strong connections to the public transportation network. Wherever feasible, energy is produced locally and through sustainable methods, including the installation of over 1,200 PV panels that generate electricity for both the shopping center and nearby residences. Moreover, all apartments and supermarkets within the development operate entirely without natural gas.

Deftly detailed Nijmegen brick architecture
The Donk and Elft apartment blocks, designed by De Zwarte Hond, frame the central shopping square and incorporate both residential units and retail spaces. Through a range of design strategies, the two substantial volumes were visually and functionally reduced in scale to align with the surrounding public realm and program. These strategies included the precise arrangement of plots, vertical program stacking, the incorporation of setbacks and roof forms, material selection, and the introduction of distinct urban accents. All participating architects engaged in close collaboration, resulting in a highly cohesive plan. A collective decision was made to use red-tinted brick and to emphasize intricate, expressive detailing across the buildings. This approach was inspired by the architectural legacy of Nijmegen architect Oscar Leeuw. Openings in the facades are highlighted with articulated plasticity and refined brickwork, including deep-set recesses, giving each structure a distinctive identity while contributing to the evolution of Nijmegen’s established brick architecture tradition.