144 appartements and commercial space
location Blok 46a has a special position on IJburg’s Haveneiland. It stands at the point where the island’s main axis, the IJburglaan, changes direction and is visible from long distance. The block is larger in scale than the surrounding buildings and is therefore a landmark on the IJburglaan.
scale The schedule of accommodation consists of 144 dwellings, comprising 75 social housing units and a further 69 AMH houses (subsidized houses). In addition, seven commercial spaces are situated at ground floor level with 118 parking spaces in the area enclosed by the block. The space available for the considerable programme was relatively limited and the original objective was to give this large structure a human scale. The programme defines the rhythm of the elevation. The plinth is two storeys in height and extends around the outside of the block. The elevations above respond to both the formal IJburglaan and the more intimate residential streets through ‘vertical plasticity’. This strategy refers to the 19th century canal buildings of Amsterdam and involves the use of parcelling, bays and ornamentation such as horizontal bands and shutters.
courtyard The majority of dwellings are accessed via a gallery on the inside of the block. As this is the side with the sunnier aspect, this space has been widened beyond purely functional dimensions. Each dwelling has its own outdoor space, along the broadened galleries and facing the planted courtyard, and this encourages lively social contact between residents. The parking area is obscured from view under a planted deck.
project information address: ijburglaan, julius pergerstraat, eva besnyöstraat design team: arie van der neut, albert herder, furkan köse, amber beernink, menno veldman project team: arie van der neut, menno veldman client: waterstad 2 c.v. amsterdam contractor: van wijnen design-completion: 2004-2007 construction costs: € 16.250.000 photography: luuk kramer / stefan müller
