CPO Sint Martens Hof Arnhem

For this project an entire block of houses was sold to private owners for self-renovation into 20 spacious urban dwellings. The purchase entailed an obligation to renovate the buildings to a certain stipulated standard and to carry out the renovation work collectively under the supervision of an architect. NEXIT came up with a ‘renew-build’ concept to render the buildings sustainable and future-proof. Restoration, renovation and construction were combined in an innovative design process. Collective interests were specified during interactive workshops while individual wishes were addressed in one-on-one design sessions: a challenging design process in that the budgets and level of DIY-contributions differed from one household to the next. The outcome of this process is a housing block with a highly communal character, which nonetheless offers a wide variety of lifestyles. The interactive design process generated intense two-way inspiration, resulting in the reassessment of preconceived individual ideas about lifestyles. Residents’ participation in the renovation work contributed to a sense of involvement, community and responsibility that is sadly absent in the average new-build project. Sint Maartenshof now serves as a model project and has created a lot of spin-off in the Arnhem district of Sint Maarten. The project was nominated for both the Willem Diehl and the Heuvelink Architecture Awards.