Adaptive reuse of former vocational school into housing

De Zwarte Hond was commissioned by Koopmans Bouwgroep to create a design for the transformation of the former technical education building of ROC Noorderpoort in Groningen; the building has been rezoned as housing. in March, the purchase agreement was finalised between Koopmans Bouwgroep and Noorderpoort.

Municipal heritage-listed monument
The former school building originally served as the Second School for Technical Education. Built in the early 1970s as part of the De Wijert-Noord extension plan, it was designed by the architect J.J.M. Vegter, who played a significant role in the post-war reconstruction of Groningen.

Consisting of four floors and a basement, the building (approximately 8,500m2 GFA) is listed as a municipal monument. The historic quality of the building is retained in the transformation plan. The plan proposes a diverse housing programme including, among others, free-sector rental apartments of varying sizes such as loft houses and penthouses.

Co-living
Part of the plan is a housing concept that focuses on co-living. The main building houses more compact apartments that have access to communal facilities such as a shared living room, kitchen, workspaces, laundry and shared cars.