Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo has transformed a gasworks in the city of Hilversum into a residential neighbourhood featuring cylindrical apartment buildings intended to resemble the dismantled gasholders.
The Delft-based practice designed the Villa Industria masterplan to provide 357 homes on the former site of the Regional Energy Supply Company in the Dutch city

The gasworks was originally located on the edge of the city but gradually became enclosed by residential developments as Hilversum expanded.
When the industrial complex was relocated the decision was taken to regenerate the site by introducing a mixture of affordable housing alongside owner-occupied properties, small business units and sports facilities.

The design for the masterplan aims to create a new neighbourhood with a distinct sense of identity, which is influenced by the site's industrial heritage. The various buildings that occupy the 74,000-square-metre plot are unified by the use of red brick and include forms, materials and details intended to directly reference the history of the gasworks.

"The architecture of Villa Industria has a harmonious materialisation, a sculptural design language, and industrial detailing," the architects said.
"Cool materials, such as steel and glass are combined with warm materials like red to red-brown bricks with subtle relief."

Together with ornamental details such as identifying letters and numbers created in relief on the facades, the use of dif...