Project Name: Nieuw Bergen

Location: Eindhoven, Netherlands

Design Team: MVRDV

Building Area: 31,246 m²

Completion Year: 2026

Image Copyright: MVRDV

Design Features: MVRDV has completed Nieuw Bergen, a mixed-tenure residential development in the heart of Eindhoven comprising seven buildings that together redefine how density can coexist with daylight, greenery, and neighbourhood character.

The project combines five newly constructed buildings with two carefully restored historic structures, delivering 237 homes that span the full spectrum of urban living, from social housing apartments to luxury penthouses. Rather than imposing a uniform architectural identity, MVRDV devised a strategy of gradual transition: the buildings shift progressively in scale, material, and colour from the low-rise, red-brick heritage fabric of the Bergen neighbourhood toward a seventeen-storey white stone tower, allowing the dense development to dissolve naturally into its surroundings.

The most striking design move is the adoption of 45-degree sloping rooflines across the five new buildings. Each roof plane traces an angle drawn from the base of the adjacent structure, a systematic approach that guarantees sunlight penetration to both apartments and street-level public spaces. The result is a jagged, mountainous silhouette that reads as simultaneously respectful and boldly sculptural. These angled roofs also accommodate photovoltaic panels and biodiverse green roofs, while three of their peaks open into communal roof terraces, one featuring a glass-enclosed greenhouse for collective gardening.

At street level, the ground floors of five buildings are given over to commercial uses, activating a largely car-free public realm that encourages lingering throughout the day. The reuse of the two historic police station buildings reduces embodied carbon, reinforcing a sustainability agenda woven into every layer of the project. Nieuw Bergen demonstrates that thoughtful urban densification need not sacrifice openness, identity, or community.

Design Team: MVRDV was founded in 1991 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, by Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs, and Nathalie de Vries. The firm is recognised as one of the most influential architectural practices in contemporary international architecture, with a reputation built on high-density urban housing, mixed-use developments, and forward-looking urban research. MVRDV consistently explores the potential of architecture to address population growth, climate change, and the long-term sustainability of cities.

MVRDV's completed works span a broad typological range including residential, cultural, commercial, and urban regeneration projects. Notable buildings include the Sky Park in Seoul, the Markthal in Rotterdam, La Vallée Verte in Paris, and the Silodam housing block in Amsterdam.

Nieuw Bergen was led by Founding Partner Jacob van Rijs and Partner Frans de Witte, with interior design for the lobbies overseen by Partner Fokke Moerel. With studios in multiple cities worldwide, MVRDV brings together architects, designers, and researchers from across the globe, addressing the complex demands of the contemporary built environment through interdisciplinary and collaborative practice.