The apartment building La Grande Cour is the first completed building on the newly regenerated Westerdokseiland. This new district next to city centre and Amsterdam Central Station will provide a combined residential and business area with more than 900 new houses, catering establishments. The redevelopment of Westerdokseiland is part of the large-scale development along the south bank of the IJ. The urban plan by Peter Defesche (OD205) made a clear distinction between the buildings along the IJ (high-scale) and on the other hand the city centre side (small-scale). La Grande Cour is the most southern of the three urban blocks.
In 2000 Meyer en Van Schooten Architecten started with the master plan for this block in which almost 250 dwellings and 2500 m2 commercial space together with an underground parking had to be fitted in a very limited footprint. The outcome of the study resulted in the formation of a massive block with inner courtyards (cours). Openings are cut through the perimeter walls to allow views in and out of the courtyards, and enable the apartments to have external views, despite the high density of the block (approximately 300 dwellings per hectare). In order to optimize the aspect of the dwellings, high rise towers were constructed from the inner courtyards and bend over and across the external perimeter volume like periscopes.
The architecture of the south block is allocated to three architects. Each office was given a courtyard and a periscope tower to develop. During the planning process continual coordination between the three schemes was paramount in order to ensure a unified architectural outcome, similarly a high level of attention was given to the architectural details. The three courtyards (cours) each contain a more individual architecture. They all have varying heights, the IJ side (eastern side) is higher than the western edge. In the north cour Heren 5 Architecten designed an ascending stone stairs with adjoining timber terraces and planters containing Hazel trees(Corylus colurna). The façades are clad in a shiny enameled blue brick. The central cour, designed by de Architekten Cie., introduces stately wooden stairs. The bright orange bouncy floor gives a special atmosphere. The façades are clad with standard aluminum panels and frames are grouped and lined with a pronounced white edge. The last cour, designed by Meyer en van Schooten Architecten, features a gently sloping deck. Within the landscaped bed of gravel and lavender a large ailanthus is planted. The courtyard elevations are clad with a light grey fiber- reinforced panel above concrete base panels. Woven stainless steel mesh spans between the external galleries providing secure screening and balustrade. The tower is clad with a dark grey fiber-cement panel.
The project has a typical urban living environment. Apartments range from 60m2 to 150m2; from social housing to high level rental apartments and privately owned penthouses. On ground level there are commercial spaces and catering establishments at the Westerdoksplein. From the three shared roof terraces on the seventh floor there is a magnificent view over the old city centre and the IJ.
