The Landbouwbelang designed by Tuñon y Albornoz Arquitectos, on the banks of the Meuse, the former grain store will grow in the coming years, generating a new horizon for Maastricht, with three large buildings, as a metaphor for the three large churches that determine the face of the capital of Limburg.
The project is based on the approach of the place as a transition between the traditional architectural style and the city center skyline with its characteristic towers (churches) and the largest (old) industrial volumes in Sphinxkwartier. The basis of the design is the reuse of the original Landbouwbelang buildings from 1939. Later added clay rooms give way to new construction in the form of three towers reminiscent of the typical Maastricht (church) towers rising above the landscape of the roof. The characteristic cranes of the quay will be preserved, the letters LANDBOUWBELANG on the south façade will be restored, an old crane from the Kleihal will be preserved and street art will be recovered. The plan includes underground parking for residents and shared mobility. The entire plan is heated and cooled through the sustainable aqua thermic solution.
The project is based on the approach of the place as a transition between the traditional architectural style and the city center skyline with its characteristic towers (churches) and the largest (old) industrial volumes in Sphinxkwartier. The basis of the design is the reuse of the original Landbouwbelang buildings from 1939. Later added clay rooms give way to new construction in the form of three towers reminiscent of the typical Maastricht (church) towers rising above the landscape of the roof. The characteristic cranes of the quay will be preserved, the letters LANDBOUWBELANG on the south façade will be restored, an old crane from the Kleihal will be preserved and street art will be recovered. The plan includes underground parking for residents and shared mobility. The entire plan is heated and cooled through the sustainable aqua thermic solution.
Construction is expected to begin in mid-2025. The construction period will be approximately two years.
Rendering. Landbouwbelang by Tuñón y Albornoz Arquitectos.
"It is an honor to be part of this fantastic team and enrich the city by retrofitting the existing structures of this heritage site with a hybrid program. The plan of 40.000m² not only offers a wide mix of housing from students to penthouses but will soon also become the new workhouse of the Institute of Performative Arts – Toneelacademie Maastricht and Conservatorium Maastricht of Zuyd Hogeschool | Zuyd University of Applied Sciences."
Tuñón y Albornoz Arquitectos.
“The applicants have succeeded in adding a new logo to the city that is innovative and distinctive in terms of architecture, urban development, and sustainability. A plan that also gives a prominent place to the reuse of existing industrial heritage. And that with the Theater Academy and the Conservatory of the Zuyd University of Applied Sciences, the Sphinxkwartier is added to a supra-regional cultural-educational trigger.»
Frits Palmboom, chairman of the evaluation committee.
Rendering. Landbouwbelang by Tuñón y Albornoz Arquitectos.
History
From the beginning of the 13th century until 1783, the Antoniten monastery was located on the Landbouwbelang site. This imposing building with two imposing church towers was the largest Gothic monastic church in Maastricht. During the bombardments of 1793 and 1794 it was severely damaged and over time deteriorated further. The complex had to make way in 1848 for the construction of the Liège-Maastricht Canal.
In 1939, construction began on a grain transshipment area for the Vereniging Landbouwbelang agricultural cooperative in Roermond. Construction was not completed until after World War II. In the 1970s, its use as a grain ferry was discontinued and the property was bought by its neighbor, Koninklijke Nederlandse Papierfabriek (now Sappi), who sold it to the municipality of Maastricht in 2003. The Landbouwbelang has been a squatter area since 2002, tolerated by the municipality of Maastricht, and where a cultural sanctuary has been created over the years.
In 2021, the project of the Belvédère Wijkontwikkelingsmaatschappij launched the tender procedure for the realization of Landbouwbelang on behalf of the municipality of Maastricht.
