Offices and housing “La Forteza”, Maastricht, The Netherlands 1990-2000

Project: 1990-1995
Construction: 1997-2000
Client: Wilma Vastgoed, Maastricht
Partner architect: Büro Hoen architecten, Maastricht
Site area: approx. 8’000 m²
Useful surface: offices 7’500 m², housing 15’500 m²
Volume: 79’000 m³

A vast disused industrial area adjacent to the historical center was part of the redevelopment featured in a new urban plan drafted by the architect Jo Coenen. The lot assigned to Mario Botta is situated at the edge of a sudden variation in the road layout, which is the central rectilinear axis in the new urbanization. It is a triangular lot, one side of which is formed by a street in the residential area and the other by the motorway. The issue of the corner is dealt with by use of a cylinder which, placed in the middle, articulates two linear volumes. The determination of uses is expressed by the volumetric composition, so that apartments are located in the cylindrical volume, while the offices are located in the two linear ones. In its tripartite articulation, the design features deep cuts that reveal loggias and an ordered repetition of windows. A square courtyard is delineated within the cylinder. Two large portals in front and a generous cut at the rear reveal the courtyard to the exterior, in direction of the motorway.