AWARD! Happy Days wins the Gemma Smid Architecture Prize 2025 jury award and a shared public choice award!

The professional jury—consisting of Brechje Pronk, Tess Broekmans and Joost Emmerik—describes Happy Days as an exceptional project that perfectly fits Zoetermeer’s tradition as a city of residential experimentation.

“The ambitious promise of living as if you are always on holiday has become reality. A fitting project, built on a strong idea, has been realised at the right scale. It is refreshing that cars are parked at the edge of the neighbourhood, leaving ample space for greenery and landscape within the plan. The seemingly random placement of the homes in the landscape is in fact a carefully considered composition, made possible through close and effective collaboration between different design disciplines. In terms of urban design, architecture and landscape architecture, the various parties have achieved a ‘one plus one equals three’ result.”

Many thanks to ArchitectuurPunt Zoetermeer, the Municipality of Zoetermeer, and former alderman Gemma Smid for the organisation and for putting the importance of integrated spatial quality in the city on the agenda.

Proud of our interdisciplinary team! 🎉