The Hague, 4 December 2025 – Commissioned by the municipality of Utrecht, Deerns is working on the design of a new school building for X11 in Merwede. The future-proof building that combines school, sports hall and a bicycle parking facility will bring learning, sports and sustainability together.
Currently under development, Merwede is a green, car-free urban district with a mix of homes, schools and sports facilities. The district is strongly committed to sustainable mobility, climate adaptation and a healthy living environment. Within this context, Block 3 is being developed as a single complex, with homes on one side and a school, sports hall and bicycle parking facility on the other.
The Municipality of Utrecht awarded the building design to a team led by Next Architects. Deerns is responsible for installation design, building physics, acoustics, fire safety and sustainability. The team is further strengthened by Rademacher de Vries (architect), MOSS – Maker of Sustainable Spaces for green integration, Breed ID for construction and Vitruvius overseeing the construction costs.
“The complexity lies mainly in the combination of functions: a school with practical classrooms, a sports hall and bicycle parking, all under one roof and with high sustainability requirements. Our role is to solve this puzzle as cleverly as possible, both technically and spatially, so that the building will work optimally for all users,” says Peter Verhaar, Project Manager at Deerns.
Smart design to suit multiple functions
The project presents a challenge: to accommodate multiple users with different needs within a single building, all with an eye on financial feasibility.
Deerns is contributing by:
- Delivering a design in accordance with the requirements of the 2021 Fresh Schools Programme: The building is being designed in accordance with the highest quality standards for indoor climate, energy performance and acoustics. Pupils, teachers and athletes will benefit from a healthy, comfortable and modern (learning) environment.
- Taking sustainability as a starting point: With ambitious targets for CO₂ reduction, material use and energy efficiency, Deerns is committed to a future-proof building. The design is geared towards achieving strict MPG scores which measure the environmental impact of a building, and features the consolidated installation of technical systems, cleverly distributed across the school, sports hall and homes to maximise efficiency.
- Creating space for practical education: X11 offers a wide range of practical education. This requires smart solutions for spaces that combine a variety of functions: from lab spaces for physics and chemistry to creative workshops. Deerns will be providing the technical and building physics facilities to support this.
A bold approach
During the tendering process, the design team decided to radically revise the existing preliminary design. The team analysed the plan and opted for a leaner, more efficient building design that is easier to realise and better meets the needs of the users.
This simplification did not result in a reduction in quality. Rather it provided scope for more investment in sustainability, comfort and user-friendliness. This illustrates the boldness and creativity with which Deerns tackles complex projects alongside partners and clients.
A future-proof heart for learning and sports
The preliminary design phase began in September and will run until the end of 2025. This will be followed by the final design, permit procedures, the selection of contractors and the actual construction phase, with the aim of completion in February 2029.
X11 will further strengthen the Merwede neighbourhood, helping ensure the community has access to future-proofed sports and learning facilities.
