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loos architects
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GRO // Casco City Groningen // NL
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 Housing neighbourhood design for EUROPAN and SEV competition
Miguel Loos / HUB
EUROPAN/Municipality of Groningen
2001
approx. 2 ha
Offices, park, public functions, housing and parking (approx. 28.000 m2 in total)
First prize SEV competition “Royaal Wonen”
Paradijsvogelstraat, Groningen, NL
In Casco City, the classical division between a house with a garden, an office tower and an industrial hall is eliminated.

In the same way as different amounts of Red, Green and Blue are mixed on a tv screen in order to create a new colour, Casco City mixes the elements Residential, Green and Business in order to create a vast range of differentiation within each Casco unit.

The adjustable houses offer a living and working space to people from all kinds of backgrounds, with all kinds of lifestyles.

This diverse clientele will lend Casco city an identity that distinguishes it from urban or sub-urban areas, providing this in-between town with a character of its own.
CASCO 01 [house + logistics centre]

This CASCO has a cantilever with a cargo area underneath. The Green is provided by a patio that functions as a transition area between the Residential and Business programmes which spiral around it. While the amount of Green is fixed, working and living units can be arranged in many different combinations. A small core is provided, containing the minimal facilities. A completely glazed rooflight illuminates the patio.
CASCO 02 (house + industrial production shed)

This combination is a production shed with the height and width of a standard 5m residential grid. In this house, which has a central garden space, the owner has the possiblity of creating his own composition of boxes with residential or business programmes. RGB programming has in this case resulted in a total flux of Residential and Business functions in a Green environment. The sculptural rooflight has a glazed side providing a flood of sunlight in the garden, and a perforated side illuminating the programme.
CASCO 03 [house + storage warehouse]

This CASCO type has a 7.5 m wide rack lay-out over 3 storeys. The Residential and Business functions are separated by the Green that acts as a flexible membrane between them and determines the spatial layout of the house. The different units in the rack are separated by cores providing circulation and a minimum of facilities. This CASCO provides a very open stacking of programme between two transparent facades. 
CASCO 04 [house + office tower]

The towerhouse consists of stacked Residential, Green and Business programmes. The end-user can choose from a set of R, G and B components for the different floors, with different heights and characteristics. The network link is formed by key-card elevators which make an individual stop at every level possible, linking the elements of your personal unit over different floors. The elevator cores provide a technical shaft for the facilties, while the staircases constitute a shared vertical route through the building.
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