The Houthavens in Amsterdam-West have recently gained a special building block: Larch. A residential building entirely for young Amsterdammers and inspired by the Amsterdam School architecture.
There are a total of 102 homes, the majority of which will be 'Friends homes'. A housing concept by Lieven de Key, in which three starters share a home. Each starter rents a room with a private bathroom and toilet. The rooms are 20 m2 in size. In addition, the three residents share a spacious kitchen. In total, the house is approx. 92 m2 GO.
Houthavens
Commissioned by housing corporation Lieven de Key, M3H has designed a housing block on the Revaleiland in the Houthavens in Amsterdam. The urban development plan for Houthavens consists of a water-rich, urban archipelago. Each island has its own block typology and Amsterdam architecture inspiration.
The New Amsterdam School Architecture
The design of the building is a contemporary translation of the Amsterdam School architecture. It refers to the adjacent Spaarndammerbuurt, which is known for its iconic buildings in this style. All street facades of Larch are composed with the same facade elements, masonry, washed gravel concrete and aluminum frames in a ton-sur-ton color scheme. Yet each side is different, each facade has its own character that responds to the urban space to which the facade borders.
A collective courtyard
The houses are grouped around a collective courtyard. This inner garden is the central meeting place for the young residents with lots of greenery and places for different uses. Sports equipment has been installed and there are all kinds of seating areas where residents can come together. Two spacious exterior staircases in the corners of the building provide multiple routes to the garden. The inner garden is the central place of the design where it is pleasant to stay. Because the inner garden is raised one floor, with the parking garage below, the garden catches more sun. The facades around the garden, on the inside of the building block, are light in colour. The beige-grey nuanced masonry and the 'white-wash' wooden facade cladding, together with the balconies and pergolas, provide an informal atmosphere.
Friends living concept
With the special Friends housing concept, starters can share homes with each other and take the first steps in their housing career together. If you are on your own and are a home starter, it is very difficult to find a nice and affordable place to live in Amsterdam. So there were many enthusiastic reactions; about 3000 registrations for the 300 residential units in Larch! For the people who have come to live in Larch, it feels like a lottery ticket. Because we are close to the center of Amsterdam, you normally pay more than € 8,000 per square meter for an owner-occupied home here. The tenants in Larch only pay €253 per month for the basic rent. Including energy, internet and service costs, this leads to a monthly amount of approximately € 400.
Maps
The houses are accessed in various ways; there are gallery, corridor, portico and ground-access homes. Due to the different orientations of the houses, there are different types of outdoor spaces in different positions. Together with the different accesses, this ensures a variety of house plans. In the straight parts of the 'diamond-shaped' building, the grid is 7.80 m everywhere. At the corners of the building block special housing plans arise 'automatically'.
For the next 25 years they will be Friend homes. After that, it will be reviewed how and to whom to allocate the homes. We have taken future scenarios into account when designing the floor plans, so the homes are prepared to be easily adapted to a regular apartment.
Contextual design
In the facades, the design responds to the different urban spaces and orientations (stone quay on the water, green bank on the water, diagonal slow traffic route, motorway and small park). Recessed and protruding facade parts provide a lot of plasticity in the facade. Together with the exuberant masonry and the richly detailed washed-out gravel concrete, this creates an articulated facade in ton-sur-ton earthy tones. The four corners of the building are special and enhance the sculptural design of the building.
Team:
Architects: M3H
Photographer: Rufus de Vries, Luuk Kramer
