Just imagine: a new part of Maastricht, right in the centre, which exerts a great attraction on people from all over the world but also a part of the city where Maastricht residents themselves like to come. An ambition that Camille Oostwegel, together with architect Francine Houben, wants to fulfil with full conviction.
Camille Oostwegel, owner & managing director of Oostwegel Collection, has signed a purchase agreement with Zuyd University to take over 'Sociëteit De Stuers'. This national monument from 1903, designed by architects Pierre and Jos Cuypers, is located next to the Kruisherenhotel and is still part of the Maastricht Institute of Arts. Sociëteit de Stuers is of great cultural-historical importance as an expression of cultural, social and typological development and because of its innovative value. With the purchase of this historic building, Oostwegel Collection wants to expand the current Kruisherenhotel with facilities that raise the 'five-star level' to an even higher level.
The expansion includes 50 hotel rooms, a high-end fine casual restaurant and a multifunctional space for exhibitions and meetings for up to 150 guests. In addition, the head office of Oostwegel Collection is also moving to this new location. To accommodate all these facilities, the national monument will be repurposed and expanded.
Camille Oostwegel: “This expansion fits our family business perfectly! Such an ambition is not easy to achieve. We therefore engaged architect Francine Houben of Mecanoo to design the project together with us. Francine has a special relationship with the place, as she designed the houses on the Herdenkingsplein in the early 1990s. Over the years, she has made a name for herself as an architect with award-winning projects in New York, Kaohsiung (Taiwan), Birmingham, Delft and of course our St. Gerlach Pavilion in Houthem-St. Gerlach.” Not only Mecanoo Architecten are involved in the project. Oostwegel have also chosen SATIJNplus Architecten as a local partner and restoration architect
Francine Houben about the project: “The dream is to give the area around the Kommel, together with the Kruisherenhotel and the Maastricht Institute of Arts, a quality boost, so that a lively area is created where both residents and visitors of Maastricht feel right at home. A new part of the city, that is inspired by the qualities of the historic environment: the experience of a courtyard in the middle of the bustling heart of the city!”
Preparations are in full swing and hopefully construction can start in September 2023. The expansion of the Kruisherenhotel could then receive the first guests in 2025.