Dura Vermeer to deliver new housing development in Oegstgeest part of LBSP
After an intensive tender procedure, Leiden University and the Municipality of Oegstgeest have chosen Dura Vermeer for a new housing development with plenty of affordable homes in Nieuw Rhijngeest-Zuid. Dura Vermeer seeks to create a green and playful neighbourhood with welcoming public spaces as its centrepiece.
The new development in the Oegstgeest part of the Leiden Bio Science Park (LBSP) will comprise 500 new homes: 125 social rent properties, 225 mid-market rental properties and 150 free-sector properties. Besides the 500 homes, there will also be a student housing tower with 300 apartments, which will be developed by DUWO.
Buildings as ‘guests’
Dura Vermeer envisages an eclectic mix of building types and styles, arranged in small clusters. This will create a sense of playfulness, landscape and air. At the heart of the design are the public spaces celebrating greenery, water and vistas. Buildings are ‘guests’. The Binnenrijn waterway with its marina will take a leading role in the neighbourhood, aptly named ‘De Werf’ (the wharf) by Dura Vermeer.
The assessment committee was impressed with the plan’s bold design and the imaginative use of space. The focus on sustainability with more than a nod to biodiversity and a leading role for water in the shape of wadis and rain gardens also received much praise.
Communal spaces
Communal spaces are an important feature of the plan. In Nieuw Rhijngeest-Zuid Dura Vermeer plans to create an area that fosters a sense of community. An area where, rather than living anonymous lives in their back gardens, people meet one another in the public realm, along the waterside and the wharf, in the vibrant square or in one of the friendly courtyards.
Elfred Bus, alderman for spatial planning in Oegstgeest, is enthusiastic about the plans. ‘We are working in a unique part of the village. Dura Vermeer is devoting its efforts to the challenge of bringing together the Bio Science Park and Oegstgeest in a way that makes sense. We are pleased to be taking this next step towards realising over 300 affordable homes in a welcoming environment that celebrates water, greenery and community. That is a perfect match for Oegstgeest as a fantastic place to live.’
Soft colour palette
Ferdy Poppelier, director of Leiden University Real Estate, ‘Dura Vermeer was best in its class at creating a spacious, green neighbourhood that ties in with the university and municipality’s plans. What is more, the design transitions wonderfully to, on the one hand, the existing homes on the other side of the future Binnenrijn waterway, in the choice of a soft colour palette and the layering of buildings and, on the other hand, to the Bio Science Park with a more imposing and urban character. I look forward to the further development and realisation of this neighbourhood with its many starter homes. It will contribute enormously to the vibrant park we have in mind.’
‘We are pleased that the Municipality of Oegstgeest and Leiden University have shown such confidence in Dura Vermeer as a partner in this development’, says Nicolle Terlouw, director of Real Estate Development at Dura Vermeer Bouw Zuid West. ‘With a mixed programme and high ambitions for spatial quality and sustainability, the De Werf plan is a fantastic opportunity to make eager use of our wealth of experience, knowledge and expertise.’
Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2027.
The buildings above are an artist’s impression from which no rights can be derived.