Regulateur is a 105-apartment residential building in the Grunobuurt, south of central Groningen in the Netherlands. It forms part of a neighbourhood renewal programme that has been underway for about two decades. 21
The project’s client is Nijestee, a housing association. De Zwarte Hond designed the building and is responsible for the wider urban plan; Trebbe acted as the developing contractor and construction partner. The three organisations began working together on the neighbourhood renewal in 2016. 29 The project ran from 2019 to 2023, and the building was completed in 2023. 29
The 9,942-square-metre building contains 79 social-rental apartments and 26 mid-market rental apartments. Its height ranges from three to seven storeys, with homes arranged around a shared, landscaped courtyard designed by Felixx. 213 The building’s form draws on Groningen’s traditional courtyard housing, or hofjes. 1
The brick façade uses a repeated bond pattern. The roofs combine solar panels with green surfaces intended to absorb rainwater, while a rain garden, or wadi, in the courtyard helps collect and drain runoff. 111 Two stairwells lead to access galleries serving most of the apartments, and several ground-floor maisonettes have direct street entrances. The ground floor also includes two commercial spaces and shared bicycle storage. 14