Lumen / Housing

Scheveningen

More information

Lumen is part of the 2 mile-long sea front of the Dutch mid-sized coastal town of Scheveningen, The Hague. The municipality of The Hague is striving to give the coast a new, mundane ambiance. The redevelopment of this former office location into a unique place to live is part of the municipal Masterplan Scheveningen Coast.

The coastal city is a seaside and harbor town and an attractive residential area. Despite that, Scheveningen is in need of major renewal, which is why the municipality presented the master plan in 2009. One of the goals is to significantly expand the housing stock and create a central urban living environment. The new buildings, a varied group of current and new residents can be taken into account: born and raised residents of Scheveningen and The Hague, people from outside, young and old, surfers, families and seniors.

The design of Lumen

The location by the sea was one of the few places that offered the possibility to realize a design of this size (69 apartments over six floors) with views over the square with lighthouse, the harbour and the sea. OZ combined the wishes of the residents of Scheveningen with regard to their living environment with the vision of the municipality to create apartments that would also attract people from outside Scheveningen. Lumen has become an outward, seaward, nature-oriented complex with great appeal for both local and non-local sea lovers.

The starting points for the design of Lumen was the quality of the beach feeling of the former historic Scheveningen beach hotels and the differentiation of the apartments. The project deploys on a sense of community through the common functions such as surfing facilities, communal living room with terrace, and the organization of the big hall as a meeting place. Lumen is like a ship in a sea of beach grass. One of the first things you notice is that Lumen is in balance with the adjacent lighthouse. Because the top floors on the sea side recede in three steps, the view of the lighthouse has been improved. We created a forecourt between Lumen and the lighthouse.

The open design of the building is the opposite of the closed architecture that has become so characteristic of the Dutch coastline. Lumen has the qualities of a beach hotel from 100 years ago, but is built for the future. The energy supply consists of solar panels and a collective ATES installation. It is an all-sided building, with the possibility to walk straight through the building through the large central hall to the sea. A catwalk to the beach.

Lumen facade design

We designed the facade with nature. A chipper technique gives the bricks a light sand layer, giving them the appearance of natural stone. The sand on the bricks has the same color as the beach, so the facade colors along with the beach during sunrise and sunset. Only one cementer will do the application of the sand layer. The method for applying the cement is the cementer’s unique signature and should look the same across the entire facade. Living with wind, sand and salt demands a lot from the façade and glass. We chose all materials specifically to resist fast deterioration in quality. We finished the outdoor area with a beautiful metal fence combined with a glass plate against the wind.  

In- and exterior

In- and exterior form a whole. For Lumen, OZ collaborated with interior design agency TANK and landscape architect Flux. The interior consists of natural materials, in light colour tones. Wood that seems weathered by the sun and the outside air. No tightly plastered walls, smooth lacquered wood and concrete without hairline cracks, but rough and beautifully imperfect. A play of shadow and light, exciting patterns that are reflected by nature itself. Flux lined the terraces on the ground floor with dune grass and dune roses. The planting forms a natural transition with the dune landscape.

Lumen has a communal lounge area with sea views. This way, the people who live at the land side of the building can also enjoy the sea panorama. TANK furnished the lounge. This lounge can accommodate all residents together if necessary. A special feature of Lumen is that surfers do not come to their apartment wet and full of sand, but thanks to a special entrance downstairs can shower, change clothes and store their board and wetsuit in a storage room.

We reserved space in the parking garage for vehicle sharing. For electric cars, bicycles, scooters and cargo bikes, there is a charging option, resistant to sea ​​wind . The studios, lofts and apartments combine high comfort with an outward, nature-oriented view. Lumen consists of 69 apartments and has 35 different apartment types. The apartments vary from 60 to 260 m2, excluding outdoor space. There are studios, lofts, corner apartments and three and four room apartments. Half of the apartments have views of the coast, the other half looks out over land.