GALAXY, Utrecht
NEW TYPOLOGY | INTELLIGENT INTENSIFICATION | DENSITY | FUNCTIONAL MIX | SUSTAINABLE | ECOLOGY | WATER | GREEN | ENERGY EFFICIENT | SOCIAL COHESION
Location
Utrecht, Jaarbeursplein
Description
Hotel with 250 rooms, 300 appartments, facilities, parking
Client
de Lelie Vastgoed B.V.
work started
2017
HOTEL & HOUSES
On the Jaarbeursplein, Galaxy Tower, a 92 meter high hotel and residential tower, will rise in the coming years. On the first floors is the 4-star Amrâth Galaxy Jaarbeurs Hotel with approximately 250 rooms, a restaurant, swimming pool and wellness. There are 250 apartments above this. The tower will have an open structure with roof gardens and a striking ceramic cladding. There are also solar panels in the façade.
Hotel and homes will soon benefit from each other’s presence: some of the facilities of the hotel are available to the residents.
Around the central station of Utrecht more than 35 locations are working on a transformation to a mixed area of living and facilities. The location Jaarbeursplein is important for the development of Utrecht center towards the west side of the city. Galaxy Tower is one of the first developments there. With a mixed program, the tower has an important hinge function to the rear neighborhood.
The tower is not only a link between the practicality of the Jaarbeursplein and the new residential neighborhood to be developed; Galaxy also has to fulfill a dual role visually. It is a high urban building with a scale that can hook up with the new residential area. To achieve this, the tower is built up of smaller, stacked building volumes. To make the atmosphere and view of the hotel rooms attractive, green façades create a unique high quality all around. With this, the building also meets the new sustainability requirements of the municipality of Utrecht.
Galaxy Tower also receives spectacularly low energy consumption, thanks to the solar panels that are integrated into the outer walls.
The ‘warm’ facade is ceramic but industrially produced. Many variations can be made with a limited number of molds.