Castellatower, Nijmegen

The Castellatower is winner of the Architecture Award 2013 Nijmegen! At the precise intersection of two entrances to the city of Nijmegen, the Graafseweg and the railway line, an unusual residential and commercial tower block has risen. The design of Dokarchitecten; Ludo Grooteman is a point of recognition for the district. The 13 storey tower is equipped with a basement car park and provide space for offices in the three storey plinth with public sector housing above. Due to the high noise levels, three façades have been given an extra glass shell, which forms a vertical relief composed of flat, half-recessed and more than 50 cm deep cassettes. The access galleries are located between this shell and the apartments. This intermediate area, which is accessed through the ten metre high entrance lobby, is the most unusual space in the building: a living room for all the apartments. The deep cassettes contain benches, two chairs and a table or space for plants. The picture is completed by the coated interior walls in various subdued colours, lighting that can be directed onto the seating and 'floor mats' with the Dobbelman logo moulded into the prefab concrete floor slab. In this way, the intermediate space becomes a high quality living area. The vertical landscape of cassettes on the façade is emphasized by the use of different types of glass. So the building sparkles on the outside like a faceted diamond and displays a surprisingly warm side on the inside, where all the attention is focused on the user.


Architect: Ludo Grooteman
Team: P. Lievense, P. Colly, P. Cannon
Number: 0903
Status: Built
Year: 2009 - 2012
Client: Talis

Please download the project PDF for more info about this project.