Project The Queen of the South
The architect Cees Reijers wrote about the project Queen of the South the following :
Rotterdam suggests in the mid nineties a subsidy available for the development of a "woonhotel" on which
long-term and low priced (social) housing can be offered to individuals and companies who are searching for
housing for specific reasons. For example temporary housing by private concerns such as divorce, marital quarrel and so on.
It could also be useful for temporary housing before next occupation.
The city also wishes realization of cheap nights for the business market in the long-term hotel consumption for the housing
of theatre, music and educational groups.
Because of the combination of municipal and market participants the overall development of the Tarwewijk was directed on to a possible building on the corner of the Mijnsherenlaan and the Brielselaan in the late nineties. Various urban and validation analyses and adaption of zoning rules were necessary to accomplish an intensive building opportunity. This ultimately resulting in the highrise "Queen of the South".
The program leads under pressure from budget neutral to a building with stacks of functions which includes a 2 layer parking garage for 180 cars, on the ground floor and 2 storeys 3000 m2 for hotel, annexes and general office and the resettlement of the cafe "the Corner". Above this one layer of storage units and above that 10 layers with 209 hotel rooms, 2 layers of rental appartments and 9 layers of appartments for sale. The urban block is on the Brielselaan completed with a circular building in which 10 land appartments in 3 floors are included. The architectural impact of the closed block is underlined by the high rise on the plint. The effect of the plint in dark stone with a few storey high windows in a changing grid.
The high rise is a plate volume with a footprint of a trapeziun with a middle dimension of 26 metres. The head of the plate are slim and narrow. The tower is formulated with isolated and cut prefab concrete parts. The concrete is enriched with red stone parts wich enforces a natural look. The headlines are partly as "eyes" elaborated in which the surface of the side walls absorbed the headlines and sidewalls are partially equipped with "eyebrows". This adds a ribble structure and a shadow to the flat surfaces wich are architectural broken. The subdivision is accented by a structure of escape stairs wich are fluorescent in the evening.
