The development of the Catharina Gardens area initially started with the intention to help a small number of home owners that were part of a development project that had not been finalized.

After hearing the stories of the affected home owners, Kos Ta Bon N.V. decided to acquire the project and finish the realization of the homes.

Rather than completing the project with similar houses that were not designed taking the surroundings fully into account and lacking privacy, the team decided to create a master plan that would be much more suitable for the location and compliant with modern urban principles. With the new plan lay-out, the challenge arose to create a house design with the perspective of the future needs of home owners in mind. Creating spaces and facilities that enable working at home, accessibility, and the connection with the outdoors and nature, were the basis of the concept. Housing that is suitable for both growing families as well as single-households, where a sense of community-based social sentiment as well as privacy harmoniously coincide. In addition, the housing project would be built in a sustainable way, taking into account the natural elements and the island’s climate. Another design principle was an environment-friendly, nature-oriented building concept, merging respectfully with the east side surroundings.

The final challenge was to incorporate all these aspects in an esthetical design that looks the part, architecturally fits the surroundings and incorporates the right usage of element resistant materials and eco-friendly systems, all while not exceeding modal homes market prices.