MVRDV to transform heuvel shopping center into 'music mountain'

MVRDV proposes a radical transformation of eindhoven‘s heuvel shopping center into a green cultural quarter. the project is defined by its rooftop park, and stacked cultural building, all beneath a ‘glass mountain.’ the strategic vision will pave the way toward a sustainable solution for the outdated shopping center along with the muziekgebouw concert hall located within it.

images © MVRDV

with its heuvel shopping center redesign, MVRDV proposes an urban quarter which consolidates retail, culture, and recreation underneath a sculptural glass roof structure. the existing buildings will be expanded and broken open so that they better connect with the surrounding public spaces and cultural buildings of eindhoven’s inner city. the covered passages of the shopping center are replaced with open streets, making the quarter an active part of the life of the city. meanwhile, the roofs are accessible and green, creating a park that adds a design-minded element to the urban fabric.

above the existing muziekgebouw concert hall, MVRDV will introduce a stacked cultural building beneath a ‘glass mountain.’ this mountain — which visitors can climb for beautiful views of the city — creates an eye-catching landmark for the heuvel, and makes the quarter surrounding the heuvel shopping center an important contribution to the densification and greening of central eindhoven. it also creates additional space for the muziekgebouw, allowing the venue to adopt a broader program.

MVRDV’s ambition is to repurpose the heuvel shopping center’s muziekgebouw into a living room for the city. during the day, eindhoven residents will be able to stay in the building’s foyers to work or relax. with this new mix of functions and the much broader programme offering, ‘het heuvelkwartier & de muziekberg’ (‘the hill quarter & the music mountain,’ as the proposal has already been dubbed) will draw eindhoven residents in greater numbers.

MVRDV founding partner winy maas comments on the heuvel shopping center transformation: ‘culture makes a city attractive, and a city as fast-growing as eindhoven deserves a central music venue that is more visible. our vision is an open and accessible shopping, residential, and cultural quarter. we achieve this by radically opening up the existing buildings, transforming the complex into seven new city blocks, and expanding upwards from the roofs. our goal is to make the complex attractive again for all the people of eindhoven who want to shop and go out, while at the same time ensuring interaction with the inner city. in our vision, the area will have a totally different allure.’