On the waterfront in Amsterdam’s new Centrumeiland neighborhood rises IJburg Block 07–09: a structure that exudes calm and reveals refinement. Designed by OFMAA for the co-housing collective Smart Homes, it seeks a balance between Amsterdam’s building tradition and Asian spirituality.
The Vastu Shastra philosophy served as a starting point — not as a literal blueprint, but as an underlying quest for harmony. That balance can be read in the details: the mirror-symmetrical composition at the corner, the rhythm of open and closed surfaces, and the interplay between robust brickwork and light composite edges.
A strict grid provides the framework, yet within this grid there is freedom. The large corner windows draw sunlight deep into the homes, while the composition loosens towards the sides, allowing the building to reflect human scale and individuality. The façade plays with shadow, depth, and perspective—a rhythmic interplay of proportion and light that disrupts the everyday repetition of the surrounding blocks.
The seventeen residences range from compact apartments of 80 to 110 m² to a generous 300 m² ground-floor dwelling with its own garden adjoining the communal courtyard. The homes are spread over five stories above an underground parking garage, and are accessed via an internal staircase and a gallery overlooking the shared inner garden.
The façade is composed of a clear geometric grid of composite stone (Holonite), filled in with a mix of brick, glass, balconies, and ventilation panels. The result is a dynamic yet timeless whole—integrated into the urban fabric of Centrumeiland while distinguished by its richness in detail and rhythm.
“It’s a building that radiates calm yet moves in its details,” says architect Guido Schuurman of OFMAA. “That layering—between strict and playful, Western and Eastern—makes it, for me, a truly balanced building.”
Address: Muiderlaan & Tip Maruggstraat, Centrumeiland, Amsterdam
Client: Bouwgroep Smart Homes
Architect: OFMAA - Guido Schuurman
Design team: G. Schuurman & G. van Gemert
Contractor: Schutte Bouw & Ontwikkeling
Construction: De Ingenieursgroep
Fire safety: Daniel Krijnen
Climate design: Duinwijck
Climate installation: Madern
