Commissioned by the Eigen Haard housing association, ANA architects has designed a residential building on the Kramatweg in Amsterdam East with forty-two life-cycle-friendly homes.
In Amsterdam, there is a great need for suitable rental housing for the elderly and large families. A very outdated residential building stood on the corner of Kramatweg and Soembawastraat in Amsterdam-East. In consultation with the municipality and the current residents, it was decided to build a new residential complex for an equal number of homes at the exact location. The main focus was on a combination of housing for the elderly on the upper floors and families on the ground floor.
This project aimed to create modern, comfortable homes in which people could continue to live their lives while maintaining the number of dwellings in the existing building. In addition to housing specially designed for the elderly, the ground floor contains five four-room flats for families and three five-room flats for large families.
The flats for the elderly are accessed via a south-facing gallery with a private area in front of each flat. Private and collective meet and thus contribute to the meeting of the residents of each gallery. On the ground floor are the family flats, with a kitchen on the street side. A recessed alcove ensures the privacy of the bedrooms facing the street with a hedge that creates a distance to the pavement. The building also contains a meeting space for residents.
The housing complex follows the contour of the demolished building and makes a jump at the end to mark the corner. The masonry facade alludes to the Dutch architecture of the 1920s - 1940s. The toothing of the masonry surface is subtly applied at the junction of the head with the main building and the intersection with the adjoining building. Different plasticity and darker masonry characterize the plinth. Niches have been created at the entrances on the street side.
The project uses individual heat pumps and a heat recovery system for each dwelling. Solar panels have been installed on the roof. Wooden window frames with triple glazing have been applied. That resulted in an EPC of 0.2, 0.2 pt below the applicable national standard. Various measures are included in the project in the field of nature inclusiveness.
