Rhapsody

Rhapsody is an exceptional project in a complex destination. It is the capstone in the large-scale urban renewal in the Kolenkitbuurt – a borough considered to be one of the worst in The Netherlands only ten years ago. Durable, innovative, incredibly noise-proof and at the same time green and quiet. Living in Rhapsody offers the original residents a ‘new’ home with lots of greenery, social safety and low energy costs. We can proudly say that it is the first stacked residential building with a negative EPC.

Rhapsody (in West) was designed by TANGRAM Architekten and comprises 239 rental properties spread across five buildings, an elevated courtyard, commercial spaces and a parking garage. The building along the A10 West creates a sound buffer for its green and tranquil inner world that some in our industry might call an urban oasis. Rhapsody in West was developed with the conviction to make a positive and lasting contribution to the area, its residents and its environment. The project solved an abundance of key issues, like solving the noise problem, while pushing sustainability, neighborhood participation and community building. Rhapsody is the brick-and-mortar proof that in the complexity of urban compaction lies opportunity to add quality of living to a city.

In 2015, the team of De Nijs Projectontwikkeling, Smits ‘Bouwbedrijf, TANGRAM Architekten, Urban Sync, artists’ collective Cascoland and CBRE Global Investors won the tender by focusing on energetic and social sustainability. At which point, NCD led this team and developed the plan in a perfectly executed shared effort.