Wiener & Co

Wiener & Co, transforming a former Shipyard The site is a forgotten plot along a canal in the centre of Amsterdam with a history of factories (Wiener & Co) and before that, shipyards of the Eastern India Shipping Co. In the middle of the economic crisis that is pushing the Amsterdam housing market into stagnation developer Heijmans and architect Arons en Gelauff team up to create a project that will sail them out of the doldrums. The architects propose a row of canalhouses to target Amsterdam boat-owners seemingly unaffected by the crisis. At streetside these are fronted with warehouse-styled loftapartments that also may do well. A nice and quiet courtyard to share is set in between. The historic structure of wharves and shipways on this site inspires the lay-out of the urban plan. On the waterfront the built volumes perpendicular on the canal are interspaced with two public spaces. These are at the exact location of the historic shipways. One allows for access to the canal for playing and swimming. The rows of housing gradually step back to give this space focus and wide-angle views upon the water. Below the project an underground parking garage liberates the public space from cars. At the site of the historic shipway next to the bridge we create a public pocketpark. The apartments in the two brick buildings are constructed in brown brick with tiny gold spots with white glazed brick details. With a slightly differing rooflines, placement of windows and details we scale down the project along the street. Big outside spaces both on groundlevel and on cantilevered balconies fill the courtyard with a lively residential atmosphere. The architecture of the single family houses along the water is inspired by “shipping materials” like metals and untreated timber panelling. The canalhouses are clad alternately in gold and zinc. Set within the distinct roofline is a roofterrace, complemented by a large terrace on groundfloorlevel that hovers just above the water. All canalhouses get a private landingplace for mooring their vessel that they can access right from their living room. The eyecatching project soars to a sales success the middle of the crisis in 2013, is completed in 2016 and wins the municipal award for best Amsterdam residential building in 2017.