In Amsterdam’s Zuidas business district, MVRDV has completed Tripolis Park, a redevelopment and expansion of the Tripolis Office Complex. The complex, built between 1991 and 1994, was one of the last projects to be realised by the renowned Dutch modernist architect Aldo van Eyck in collaboration with his partner Hannie van Eyck. Tripolis Park includes the renovation of two of the site’s three original buildings, as well as the construction of a new 12-storey “landscraper”. Public gardens and landscape design have also been added.
“The symbolic saviour of the orphanage”
The original Tripolis Office Complex consists of three buildings: Tripolis 100, 200, and 300. Each building has its own distinct footprint, yet they are all part of a unified architectural composition. The complex is deeply connected with the fate of van Eyck’s masterpiece, the adjacent Amsterdam Orphanage. Completed in 1960, the orphanage is considered a key project in the Structuralist movement. A leading proponent of Structuralism, Aldo van Eyck fused modernist architecture with deeply humanist ideals. His Amsterdam Orphanage has been described as “a house like a tiny city” — a private sanctuary that offered children a meaningful sense of home within an urban setting.
In the mid-1980s, the orphanage faced the threat of demolition, but was saved by a successful international campaign. As a result, the municipality of Amsterdam offered the adjoining land to a developer on the condition that Aldo van Eyck and Hannie van Eyck designed a new office complex. “In 1994, their new design was completed, and thus Tripolis began its life as the symbolic saviour of the orphanage,” says MVRDV.
Creating a protective barrier
The original Tripolis complex was commercially unsuccessful and stood empty for years. Tripolis Park is situated alongside the A10 ring road, marking the western edge of Amsterdam’s Zuidas district. An expansion of the A10 threatened to increase air and noise pollution at the Tripolis site, making it less viable for office use and potentially accelerating demolition. To counter this challenge, MVRDV proposed a landscraper, effectively creating an architectural sound barrier that shielded the historic buildings from the road.
“Het Venster” (The Window) is a 150-metre-long, 12-storey landscraper. This building stands at the edge of the site, close to the A10, forming a protective barrier. A large rectangular window, cut from the gridded south-facing facade of the 34,000-square-metre office building, offers a view of the original Tripolis complex, highlighting the project’s heritage. On the building’s north-facing side, a creative cut-out traces the shapes of the Tripolis buildings, mirroring their playful geometry. A fluid, in-between space emerges where the two meet, with bridges crossing overhead to connect the old and new.
Restoring van Eyck’s designs
The original Tripolis buildings required an urgent intervention that would ensure their future. MVRDV redeveloped two of the three structures: 200 and 300. The studio used archival research and a close collaboration with van Eyck’s heirs to restore the facades of the buildings to the architect’s original, unrealised designs. “The facades are now fully clad in wood, unlike the cheaper wood and granite combination requested by the Tripolis developer in the 1990s,” explains MVRDV. The multi-coloured window frames have also been retained.
The interiors blend traditional elements, such as the preserved staircases and natural stone floors, with contemporary work practices. For example, MVRDV removed dividing walls to improve communication and collaboration. The studio implemented several sustainability measures, such as intensive green roofs that promote user interaction and solar panels. Tripolis has achieved BREEAM Outstanding and WELL Gold certifications.
Into the future
Work on Tripolis Park will continue over the next few years. Van Eyck’s Tripolis 100 will be redeveloped into a residential building. Utrecht-based Deltavormgroep will design the landscaping, including walking and cycling routes that connect different parts of Zuidas and the nearby metro station. This will create a park-like urban campus that shelters and preserves Van Eyck’s Tripolis buildings and orphanage.
Reflecting on the Tripolis Park project, MVRDV founding partner Winy Maas says: “Demolition of heritage is always the easy option, especially if it is located in a business district dominated by high-rise buildings. Tripolis Park offers an approach to protecting heritage that simultaneously meets people’s expectations for today’s office spaces. This is combined with new densification, continuing the development of Amsterdam Zuidas. And it celebrates the in-between which, as Aldo van Eyck explained to me when I was a student, is one of the main sources of beauty in architecture.”
