THREE HOUSING PROJECTS The dense urban fabric of the Haarlemmerstraat area divides what was once an area of the docks from the formal urbanisation of the ring of canals. In the context of urban renewal, designs were made for four locations in this neighborhood, three of which have been implemented.

Two plots have been combined in the Binnen Wieringerstraat. A historic monument has been left intact; the premises next door have been demolished and replaced by a new building, which keeps the monument on its feet like an intravenous drip.

An unobstructed bay area with living room and kitchen has been created in the historic monument. In the new part of the building, there are an entrance, bathroom/toilet and bedroom on each floor. Although in no way related to its context in terms of form or type, the façade blends smoothly with its surroundings in spite of the neutrality of the reductive abstraction.

In the Binnen Visserstraat three existing historic buildings have been restored. The alterations, such as the glass connecting corridor, form a cold and hard contrast with the historic architecture, so that here too old and new are clearly distinguishable from one another at every point.

The third of the implemented projects also involved the combination of a historic building with new premises, with shop facilities on the ground floor and five apartments above them: two in the historic building, three in the new one. The two upper storeys of the latter form a maisonette with a void behind the large glass façade. Access to the five apartments is via a corridor that leads to a staircase behind the premises, where the (bicycle) storage area and a small patio are located.

The three projects in the Haarlemmerbuurt are studies in compact urban housing, in which small premises, even by Amsterdam standards, nevertheless manage to offer a maximum of space through the efficient, neutral interior design and the minimization of traffic space.