Close to Utrecht central station there is a site where the two greenest towers in the Netherlands are being developed: Wonderwoods. The project will be realised in Utrecht’s Beurskwartier district, designated as a Healthy Urban Quarter, where the City of Utrecht is aiming to reduce the consumption of resources and energy and find solutions to climate change.
Two hectares of forest
Wonderwoods will comprise two green, sustainable towers housing a total of 400 homes, 14,000 square metres of office space and 7,500 square metres of commercial space. The tower designed by architect Stefano Boeri will be 105 metres high and have a green façade while the 70-metre tower designed by architect Roberto Meyer will feature greenery on the inside in the form of winter gardens and atriums. Together the towers will feature no fewer than 360 trees and over 9,600 shrubs and flowering plants – equivalent to two hectares of forest. Spectacular detail: the towers will be connected by a footbridge and will include a rooftop garden and restaurant which will be accessible to the public. At ground-floor level Wonderwoods will comprise shops and the entrance to Playlab, a digital museum themed around the relationship between nature and technology and how this might develop in the future.
Urban micro-climate
“Wonderwoods is a fantastic project to work on,” said Lars Roosken, project manager at G&S Vastgoed. “No other building has as much greenery on its façade. The special thing is that Wonderwoods will allow us to create a healthy urban micro-climate in the heart of Utrecht. This fits neatly with VolkerWessels’ mission to provide a better quality of life.”
Wonderwoods is being developed by G&S Vastgoed.