Kempkensberg

About this architecture.

The Kempkensberg is one of the icons of the Groningen skyline. The complex consists of two towers that merge into each other, a high (92 meters) and a low (42 meters). It is the tallest building in Groningen after the Martinitoren (97 metres). This asymmetrical construction was designed by UNStudio, who also designed the Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam.

This office building of the Education Executive Agency (DUO) and the Tax and Customs Administration is also popularly referred to as the 'cruise ship', but the real name of the building is named after the hill that used to be on this site. In 2011, the building replaced the four older office towers from the 1970s and 1980s.

The building offers space for 2500 (flexible) workplaces and has an underground parking garage, which can accommodate 1500 bicycles and 675 cars.

City ​​garden
The Kempkensberg is surrounded by a city garden of over a thousand square meters, designed by Lodewijk Baljon (1956). 55,000 perennials in 200 species are planned in the garden. When designing the garden, Baljon took the strong winds that can arise around tall buildings into account: he created a good wind climate through specially designed windbreaks and multi-stem trees. An elongated pond regulates the water balance of the garden.

Facts & Figures.

• District
  Helpman

• Art type
  Art and architecture