De Drukkerij

The Dutch Province of Jesuïets has had their residence, care and nursing home in Nijmegen for many years. As the population was decreasing the building became too big and a replacement was looked for. At a distance of 700 metres, in Brakkenstein park, a new residence is erected. In the same park there is a printing works from the 1930’s, its characteristic industrial identity well intact. It was purchased and designated to house all functions that should support the residence: refectory (restaurant), offices, archives and library. Besides, a restaurant for non-residents is realised. The total plan is designed in a design team, in which Diederendirrix is responsible for the residence, Kees Tolk for the garden design and we for the printing works and enlargement. The corridor connecting the buildings and the garden is designed in consultation.

The printing house was assessed for its historical value, revealing that later additions had little to no architectural, spatial, or functional significance. These were “peeled away,” leaving only the original construction phase plus one later extension. A new section was then added, clearly distinguishing old from new. The ground floor was given a highly transparent character to maximize daylight penetration and views of the park.

The upper floor was designed as an all-sided element, readable from the interior and showing both inside and out where old and new merge. Offices are located on this level, with each function expressed through its form and materiality. By playing with rhythm and the interplay of open and closed surfaces, a dynamic all-sided composition emerges. The anodized bronze color is repeated in the window frames of the residential building and is harmonized with the brickwork of the historical structures.

On the solid end wall of the upper floor, an artwork by Marc Ruygrok has been installed. A text from Handorakel en kunst van de voorzichtigheid by Balthasar Gracian (a Renaissance Jesuit) was abstracted and applied to the façade. The bronze color evokes a printing plate, subtly referencing the building’s past. Since the text uses a metaphor about food and was written by a Jesuit, it also alludes to the building’s new function and users.