MVRDV has unveiled their design for Eindhoven’s Heuvel shopping center, creating a cultural green quarter for the Dutch city. The scheme is defined by a “glass mountain” of cultural functions topped by a rooftop park, offering a sustainable solution for both the outdated shopping center and the Muziekgebouw music venue located within it.

Under MVRDV’s vision, the site is transformed into an urban quarter for shopping, culture, and recreation. The existing buildings are expanded and broken open, allowing for a better connection with surrounding public spaces and cultural buildings. The covered passages of the shopping center are replaced with open streets, making the quarter an active part of city life, while the accessible roofscape creates a park that adds to the area’s appeal.

Above the shopping center, the existing Muziekgebouw will form a stacked cultural building under a “glass mountain”. The glass mountain forms an eye-catching landmark, while also creating new views of the city from the summit. The massing also creates additional space for the music venue, allowing for a broader entertainment program. The ultimate ambition is to turn the Muziekgebouw into a “living room for the city” where locals and visitors can linger in the building’s foyers to work or relax.

“Culture makes a city attractive, and a city as fast-growing as Eindhoven deserves a central music venue that is more visible”, says Winy Maas, co-founder at MVRDV. “Our vision is an open and accessible shopping, residential, and cultural quarter. We achieve this by radically opening up the existing buildings, transforming the complex into seven new city blocks, and expanding upwards from the roofs. Our goal is to make the complex attractive again for all the people of Eindhoven who want to shop and go out, while at the same time ensuring interaction with the inner city. In our vision, the area will have a totally different allure.”

News of the scheme comes weeks after UNStudio also unveiled a proposed cultural building for Eindhoven; an arts congress and conference center topped by a cantilevering auditorium. Meanwhile, construction has recently commenced on MVRDV’s sustainable, mixed use Shenzhen Terraces in China.