Architecture Walking Tour

The Traveller

Transparent Social Hub A bold architectural statement at the heart of new Amsterdam innovation district Cumulus Park in the up-and-coming Zuidoost area, the Traveller is a curvilinear glass pavilion. With its smooth organic form, it helps define the new neighborhood and is a meeting place for students, employees from nearby offices, entrepreneurs and local residents to come together. The Traveller combines the innovation ambition of Cumulus Park with the cosiness of a living room. Its sleek, high-quality roof sits above a highly transparent facade and a warm interior with differences in height and openness. By combining a clear glass façade with natural materials and colors, the boundaries blur as if there is no distinction between inside and outside. Juxtaposing these elements with an interior of rich colors and soft textures generates an intimate indoor space that is relaxed and comfortable, with a restaurant on the ground floor and a versatile space upstairs that offer opportunity for meetings and events. Following the Levels The Traveller is designed to be seamlessly integrated with its surroundings, creating a dynamic relationship between the interior and exterior. It makes optimal use of the differences in level of the area, including a lower-level bicycle route, a landscaped park and a higher-lying road. These height differences in the ground level continue in the pavilion. The concrete stairs in the park connect exactly to the concrete stairs in the interior, with only the glass facade as a separation. Free from the Façade The client’s brief was a flexible transparent building with an open, airy, and flowing interior adaptable to changing functions. The result is a sleek, organically curved glass pavilion with a freestanding wooden element containing all functions, that never touches the glass façade. For long-term flexibility, this separation provides the freedom to adjust the core if needed, while the open layout of both floors anyway allows for variation in short-term use. Solar Shading The Traveller incorporates very large glass panels with a width of 2.4 meters and a height of almost 4 meters. Only two panels were needed in the lower parts of the building and three panels on the highest part. Following the desired transparency and curvature there were limitations in foils and in thickness to mitigate solar radiation. An engineering system was required, combining interior sun shading with drawing warm air from right behind the facade, which reduces the heating of the space. Combined with light reflecting indoor blinds, warm air between the glass facade and blind is extracted into a cove in the wooden ceiling. Detailing The wooden ceiling of the pavilion has the double curved shape of a ship’s hull and, for instance, consists of 250 unique fins in the roof’s outer edge, with curved and twisted parts in larch wood. Modelling the connections was a challenge because the shape of the roof edge is not the same as the facade contours. Additionally, because the roof slopes slightly and is designed as a green roof, at its lowest point it includes specialized drains.

Ito-toren

Office building in Amsterdam.

Zuidasdok Amsterdam

Amsterdam Tower

Studio Gang’s Amsterdam Tower addresses the city’s urgent need for housing, creating a mixed-use community at a key intersection in Amsterdam-Zuid. Negotiating between a nearby city park and the rational concrete structures of the surrounding 1950s development, the project extends the urban fabric upward, introducing two new distinct building volumes—a high-rise and a mid-rise—that add 250 residences for the growing city. The Buitenveldert neighborhood was conceived as part of the 1934 Algemeen Uitbreidingsplan (General Expansion Plan), which grew the city outward to the west and south to address one of several housing crises throughout Amsterdam’s history. Informed by the garden city movement at the turn of the twentieth century, Buitenveldert was developed in the late 1950s—one of the last garden cities to be constructed post-World War II. Accented by open green space, the neighborhood’s planned communities of mid- and low-rise buildings are a reflection of their time, with taut concrete volumes and highly rational facade grids recalling the ideals of the era. The design of both structures plays off the standard facade grids of the surrounding post-war buildings, morphing the geometry to improve residents’ experience. By modifying the rectilinearity of the corners of the structure, the facade expands views, creating visual connections across the building. The project’s ambitious environmental performance is achieved through a planted roof, photovoltaic panels, thermal storage, and energy-efficient envelopes, while urban connectivity is performed at the base of the structures. The buildings offer a mix of retail, dining, and public amenities connected by a public plaza designed by Piet Oudolf with Deltavormgroep. The architecture and the landscape work together to create a human-scaled environment for pedestrians and new urban pathways through the block that strengthen connections and reinforce important axes.

HAUT Amsterdam

HAUT, a 21-story residential tower on the River Amstel in Amsterdam, is one of the tallest timber hybrids in the world. HAUT is a prototype for building innovative and environmentally-friendly high-rise timber structures. The development site of HAUT beside the River Amstel did not simply go to the highest bidder. In assessing offers, the municipality of Amsterdam also weighed both architectural quality and sustainability. The selected proposal is for a 21-story residential tower in timber, one of the tallest wooden structures in the world. The innovative project has helped putting timber back on the world map as a structural building material. SUSTAINABILITY – In contrast to concrete and steel, timber production causes no carbon emissions. Timber actually stores carbon. Moreover, timber is renewable if harvested from sustainable forestry production. HAUT is an example of innovative sustainability in other ways, too. The building is fitted with solar panels on the roof and façade, cooling is sourced from the ground, sensor-controlled thermostats adjust low-temperature floor heating and cooling, nesting boxes for birds and bats, charging points for shared electric cars, and a rooftop garden with rainwater storage. HYBRID TIMBER – The load-bearing structure of HAUT is made of cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels manufactured off-site, ensuring low waste production and fast, clean on-site assemblage. As there are no standard building regulations for high-rise timber construction, the design team has invested considerable time and energy in technical innovation and safety. Floors and walls are constructed in timber, but a structure made completely of timber in wet and windy Amsterdam would be impossible. Consequently, the foundations, basement and core are constructed in concrete. HAUTE ARCHITECTURE – A benefit of timber construction is that it offers a warm feel and allows for a high level of customisation, or bespoke ’haute architecture’. CLT panels are easily adaptable during prefabrication, offering first buyers options in the size and layout of their apartment, the number of floors, and the positioning of double-height spaces, galleries and balconies. Unlike most timber buildings, only the inner walls of HAUT are load-bearing, allowing for floor-to-ceiling windows in the façade. The irregular pattern of balconies and the pronounced, double-height spaces facing the River Amstel make HAUT’s architecture highly distinctive. Ever since Team V Architecture started on HAUT in 2016, they are advocating the use of mass timber in building design. This project helped to accelerate the shift from traditional construction in concrete and steel to timber as the more sustainable alternative. Since publishing HAUT’s design, Team V is asked to give lectures and join workshops on mass timber construction all over the world, from New Zealand to Canada. All four partners - Lingotto, Arup, J.P. van Eesteren and Team V – have become experts in complex timber hybrids towers, and regularly share their knowledge, to decision makers, engineers, designers, builders and students - the new generation.

HAUT

HAUT, the 21-storey residential tower by the Dutch River Amstel in Amsterdam, will be one of the tallest timber hybrids in the world. HAUT promises to be a prototype of building in an innovative, sustainable and environmentally-friendly manner. The use of timber in high-rise buildings is one of the most discussed innovations in the construction industry worldwide. It represents an important step towards the carbon-neutral city: more than three million kilos of CO² will be stored in the cross laminated timber used to build HAUT. Apart from the innovative use of wood in the construction, the building will also be provided with energy-generating facades and the wastewater it produces will be collected and purified. As a result, the design has received a BREEAM Outstanding rating, the highest possible sustainability grade. Also, the judges of the BREEAM International Awards agreed that this project significantly pushes the boundaries of high-rise timber modular construction to deliver high performance, quality dwellings. They see the focus of developer, Lingotto Amsterdam, on the efficient use of materials and circular economy principles as impressive, innovative and highly replicable. HAUT stands for ‘haute couture’: tailor-made architecture. The design offers buyers extensive freedom of choice in the size of their apartment, the number of floors, the lay-out and the positioning of double height spaces, outdoor loggia’s and balconies. The façade is characterized by strong, clear lines of light grey floor bands and tall windows, with an apparently random pattern of cantilevering balconies. The wooden ceilings underneath the balconies and the pronounced projections at the sharp building corner facing the River Amstel make HAUT’s architecture strikingly distinctive. The triangular base of the building includes a spectacular public urban winter garden, HAUT’s Hortus. Residents of the neighbourhood can grow their own vegetables, relax and meet each other. The Hortus forms an extension of the adjoining Somerlust Park and includes the Innovation Lab, a demonstration centre where the latest innovations in the fields of nutrition, energy and construction are presented. Amstelkwartier HAUT will be built in Amstelkwartier, a new residential neighbourhood in Amsterdam, situated on the River Amstel between Oud-Zuid (Old South) and Watergraafsmeer. It will contain some 4,000 residential units, together with shopping facilities and small business premises. Approximately 1,000 dwelling units have already been completed, and the first primary school has been opened. Somerlust, the new park on the Amstel, is also already open to the public. Building specifications The municipality of Amsterdam has selected Team V Architecture with Lingotto and ARUP to develop the high-rise structure. The construction of HAUT will start in summer and completion is set for 2020. Facts: 73m high, 52 apartments. A public plinth with urban winter garden (1,100 m² gfa), bike and car park (2,800 m²). Total gross floor area: 14,500 m².

Rivierstaete

Rivierstaete is located in the Rivierenbuurt, in the south of Amsterdam. It’s a neighbourhood that is defined by the Amstel, the river that has played such a huge role in the city’s history, even giving it its name: ‘the dam on the Amstel’. Over the centuries, artists and architects from Rembrandt onwards have found inspiration in the river. We followed suit, making it our aim to connect the Rivierstaete building to the Amstel and its surroundings – even though it had been detached from them before. The Rivierstaete building dates from 1973. A Modernist colossus, it quickly became known locally as ‘the monkey house’, because of its piled-up, closed volumes. Designed by architect Hugh Maaskant, at the time it was Europe’s largest office building. Fast forward to 2013, the building was sold in a public sale. By now Rivierstaete was 60% empty and in a technically dated state. In the midst of the ongoing real-estate recession, it was a daring investment for the buyer. Aside from financial challenges, such a huge office building posed another risk, as it was uncertain whether office-space demand would pick up again – especially in the Rivierenbuurt, an atypical office location. Nevertheless the team’s anti-cyclical investment and long-term thinking saved the 1970s icon from demolition. Demolition and a new construction would have been the easiest option. Because of the special character and great potential of the building, however, the team decided to opt for renovation. As winners of the pitch, MVSA Architects wanted to embrace the original design, retaining its positive elements and making the existing construction visible. MVSA proposed transforming the large, empty monolith – the huge, blocky white box – into a building that would fit seamlessly into its surroundings and establish a lively relationship with the neighbourhood. In order for the building to better fit the context of the Amstel, it was pared back to the structure of the staggered volumes, while the pinched band of windows on the white-tiled façade was replaced by floor-to-ceiling glass frontages. The renovated Riverstaete finally opens itself to the surrounding Berlage district. This interaction with the environment creates a pleasant working environment and allows the outside world to glimpse the interior life of the building. Planted roof terraces, which have been added at different levels, soften the hard edges of the building with restful greenery, thus reinforcing the connection between inside and outside. Rivierstaete presents a green front garden to the neighbourhood, along with its roof terraces and roof gardens. These green roofs provide water buffering and retention, which means that the rainwater is easily drained and the building is ‘Amsterdam Rainproof’. On the other side of the street, the roof of the parking garage has been replaced, and a roof garden has been created for the block in consultation with the residents. In this way, the building has created a solution for buffering and draining water for local residents as well as users. The new transparent façades let in a large amount of daylight. An advanced system controls the climate ceilings that are present throughout the building, as well as the energy-efficient lighting with its daylight control and motion sensors. The carefully concealed outdoor sun protection prevents overheating in hot weather. The newest installation technology was used, including a thermal storage system for heating and cooling. This, together with the façades, with their highly insulated glass, ensures that the entire building meets BREEAM certification standards. In this case this standard is Breeam Very Good, an exceptional score for a renovation project. Rivierstaete is innovative both in terms of process and results. The aim was to revalue a deeply unpopular building, just as MVSA Architects has done before with the Ministry of Finance in The Hague. At Rivierstaete, we wanted to preserve the structure of spreading volumes of the iconic Hugh Maaskant design, while adapting the building to its surroundings and to the current standards for office spaces - an urgent necessity, in this case. The approach was also an example for the team, which displayed a productive cooperation: thinking, daring, and doing, talking to stakeholders and experts, learning to understand the soul of the building, and remaining open to all useful input. This step included the Monuments and Archeology department of the City of Amsterdam - even though the Modernist building is not officially a monument. The building was literally stripped down, step by step, so that we could get to know it. On the basis of all this information, we were able to achieve an optimal result with as few interventions as possible in the impressive concrete structure, which we have uncovered and given fresh allure. Our renovation gives the office floors maximum heights and spatial qualities. To emphasize the building’s monumental quality, we exposed its solid horizontal beams. The renovated building is extremely flexible. All floors can be compartmentalized or rearranged in many different ways, with minimal effort and waste of materials. By placing the technical installations and communal facilities in the two cores, we created extra space and open floor areas. Together with the floor-to-ceiling glass, the green roof terraces and the enormous sky lounge, we have produced an optimally flexible, sustainable and future-proof building, seamlessly connected with its beautiful context. This end result meets a broad social need. The ‘monkey house’ has become a much-loved landmark. The team saved an impressive, although thoroughly outdated, building from demolition, giving it a beautiful new lease of life. The iconic staggered block shape has been retained, only no longer with closed volumes, but with transparency and greenery, embracing the neighbourhood and the location. We have realized a healthy, sustainable and flexible building with real social significance. Appreciation has materialized in the users’ - and the neighbourhood’s - enthusiasm, while the high rate of vacancy has ended. The whole area has received a positive boost from this new icon on the Amstel.

Amstel Tower

With an innovative design, Amstel Tower transforms a public transportation hub into a vibrant mixed-use complex for living, working and playing. Located next to the Amsterdam Amstel Station, the new tower comprises a 24-story residential tower, mid-rise podium for an international hotel and landscaped ground level with retail and parking. As the second-busiest transport hub in Amsterdam, Amstel Station is currently undergoing a major infrastructure upgrade. Amstel Tower is a vital part of this development to transform the area into an exciting new district. The complexities of introducing a dynamic new public space and a residential function on the site included optimizing the flow of travelers on the ground floor, minimizing the building’s overshadowing and reducing impact of traffic noise for the new residents. The design solution was to create a soft, elegant building that not only addresses these complexities, but also stands in gentle contrast to the surrounding rectilinear high-rises. The 105-metre-high tower and wide podium each have a different urban character. Enriching the Amsterdam skyline with an iconic silhouette, the tower appears slender when viewed from the historic city centre, a major avenue and urban axis. Its profile gradually unfolds eastwards. The low podium engages with the immediate small-scale surroundings and activates a new public square. After careful research and discussion with stakeholders, the ground floor was modelled as a vibrant public space that is interwoven with the existing site networks. The design of the tower takes inspiration from the rounded canopy of the 1930s Amstel Station designed by H.G.J. Schelling. The canopy is reinterpreted as full-perimeter overhangs across the podium and on each level of the tower. This creates visual coherence and provides outdoor space, sun shading and noise protection for the apartments. In addition, the rhythm of the vertical elements in the facade is carefully synchronised with the rhythm of Schelling’s beautiful full-glass facade of the main train station hall. The rounded corners and asymmetrical shape limit overshadowing onto the neighbourhood and create an inviting, streamlined profile that perfectly complements its riverside surroundings. However, Amstel Tower’s design not only seeks to create architectural and urban connections, but also stimulates greater social cohesion by providing affordable, high-quality living spaces for young professionals, a group that finds it increasingly challenging to find adequate housing within the city limits. By using the programmatic challenges and opportunities in a smart and innovative way, the building is able to add quality and liveliness to the city in numerous ways.

Jonas, IJburg

At the harbour of Amsterdam IJburg you’ll find Jonas: a building with 190 medium-priced rental homes, 83 owner-occupied homes and a range of supporting facilities. Jonas is well fitted and integrated into its surroundings and has a green and sustainable character. It’s a building with an innovative housing concept and spectacular spatial interior that received the highest possible sustainability certificate: BREEAM Outstanding. Together with its surroundings, Jonas forms a ‘living landcape’. At the front of the building the public forecourt is bordered by a timber pavilion, with a roof stepping up from the square, which act as a three-dimensional playground. The pavilion also marks the entrance to the car park and serves as a tribune for all kinds of activities, such as film screenings and other events. An inviting environment where locals and residents enjoy the sun, while children cross the water with a raft. The building with its irregular openings creates the impression that the windows are gently undulating across the facade. That makes Jonas a bit different. The building is not covered in stone but faced in dark, pre-patinated zinc. The facade does not touch the ground but is lifted off it. The volume is not rectangular but diamond-shaped. That makes it both familiar and alienating, rational yet sculptural, recognizable yet innovative. But the real surprise of Jonas awaits inside. The interior expresses a modern and sustainable community life. The spatial concept is based on the way traditional wooden ships are constructed: a skeleton consisting of a series of trusses arranged in a row, which form the main structure. This allows large hollows to be carved out of the volume, and the required housing programme is contained within the ‘skin’ of the building. In addition to providing a future-proof energy supply and conscious use of materials, the BREEAM Outstanding level is determined and confirmed by the social sustainability of Jonas and the spatial perception of it. The landscape is not limited to the outside of the building, but penetrates to the furthest corners of Jonas. A public route extends through the building, linking together the public and collective programme, including the living room, the cinema, the canyon, the mountain path, the forest patio and the rooftop beach and bar. The commercial facilities in the plinth, all supporting the concept and bigger picture of Jonas, ensure a dynamic ground floor and quay. The residential concept of Jonas is supported by a community manager, who is close to the residents and can be consulted for matters like booking the guestrooms, the yoga studio or a shared car. Everything in Jonas is geared to stimulating social interaction and encounters to ensure the building becoming a focal point for activities and act as a catalyst for the neighbourhood. Jonas demonstrates that besides technical sustainability, biodiversity and community building are important principles, which are perhaps of the greatest importance for the success of the building and its surroundings.

Flow

Flow is designed to bring its user in the flow state of mind. To perform at any time of day. The black diamond construction exists of 6 layers of approximately 7,000 m2 total floor area. A state of the art office building with broad opportunities to excel and reload, to connect and disconnect. The design fits perfectly in its surroundings along ‘t IJ at the Amsterdam Houthavens where fresh waves and sea breeze are also daily business. A few minutes from Amsterdam’s canal-laced centre the Amsterdam Houthavens is situated. This newly redeveloped dockland area is full of character and unexpected combinations. The Houthavens is now thriving like never before. This little piece of Amsterdam has become a very pleasant and desirable place to live and work. In one unique neighbourhood on the IJ waterway you’ll find cafés and culture, houseboats and HQs, old industrial buildings and stunning modern architecture, family businesses and multinationals. It’s a mix that embodies flow. The Moermanskkade is a lovely location, it truly amazes with its light and looks. The buildings that arise on this location are all architectural masterpieces with many high-quality features. The main idea is that people feel good here, which is an extra stimulus for the creative mind. From the first, Flow makes an impact. The main entrance is deliberately transparent and welcoming, with stunning LED display walls. Opening onto a relaxed reception lobby, it overturns all the usual conventions. Large expanses of glass mean the building blends into its lively surroundings. Tap into the energy! The Flow building is designed to the highest standards. Horizontal lines accentuate the dynamic, bridge-like design and highlight the choice of materials: industrial-looking black metal and expanses of glass that maximize the panoramic views. Flow’s glass skin ensures that the views of the IJ can be enjoyed from inside, as well as from the generous decks that bring the outdoors into every floor of the building. Wooden decks, referencing the ships that once sailed into the Houthavens port with their cargoes of timber. Reaching the office by water is a special option that offers an unforgettable way to experience Flow. Unlike other office buildings Flow understands that people need to relax to make the best work done. To create a stylish and comfortable place, Flow offers amongst others a rooftop venue for inspiring events, all over light incidence, abundant outside space via a private outdoor deck for each office, climate ceilings and full responsive intelligent systems. The way that buildings are designed, constructed and maintained impacts the way we sleep, what we eat and how we feel. Innovative, research-backed strategies advance health, happiness, mindfulness and productivity to help you find your own flow and deliver your best performance. Natural light improves workplace performance. Flow lighting maintains a healthy circadian rhythm and is based on anti dazzle technology, excellent colour quality and abundant natural daylight. Flow was designed with flexibility in mind. Every space can be configured in several different ways. Workplaces can be positioned in a variety of formats. Elevators, staircases and toilets are core communal elements. Shared spaces in the lobby and on the top floor offer extra possibilities for entertaining guests as well as hosting special Flow events. Flow’s top floor offers a truly inspiring experience. An expansive roof terrace with panoramic views provides a space for relaxation, entertaining and performing – a unique setting where you can present your new ideas, products or solutions to the best effect. A large indoors presentation space adds to your options. The rooftop space comes equipped with a bar, an outside fireplace and a perfectly curated selection of music and designer furniture. With the gym also located on the top floor, you can work out then relax with a drink and enjoy the view. Eat, meet, party on the 5th floor. Work-life balance acquires a whole new meaning.

Sluishuis

The Sluishuis (Dutch for 'sluice house') is an apartment building in IJburg, a neighbourhood on artificial islands in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The building, which opened on 13 July 2022, was designed by Bjarke Ingels Group, an architecture firm based in Copenhagen and New York City, in collaboration with Rotterdam-based Barcode Architects. The Sluishuis is a sustainable building, with solar panels installed on the roof providing the energy for the lighting and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning in the complex. Its courtyard has a publicly accessible jetty where boats can moor.

PVH Campus

The European Headquarters for Calvin Klein & Tommy Hilfiger, was the start of something big – namely, a ‘campus’ development for Calvin Klein’s and Tommy Hilfiger’s parent company, PVH. With European HQ for Calvin Klein & Tommy Hilfiger as the cornerstone of the PVH Campus, two more key buildings on the waterfront completed an unusual three-in-one complex. Given their different focuses and functions, our approach stresses unity in diversity, with three overlapping water-related concepts. A maritime setting suggests a variety of associations, so to underline the shared yet separate identity of the three buildings, we interpreted it in three different ways. The European HQ Calvin Klein & Tommy Hilfiger building, which was the first to be completed in 2016, has the sleek lines and shiny finishes of a sailing ship. The middle, low-rise building, the social hub of the campus, has a stratified yet flowing form inspired by a waterfall. The third, a high-rise office complex, has a graphic façade that reflects the movement of waves. The European HQ are Calvin Klein’s and Tommy Hilfiger’s public face in Amsterdam, the place where the brand showcases its collections and welcomes clients from all over Europe. Its height and iconic form give the campus an easily recognizable presence and identity, as well as contributing to the new series of stunning landmarks on the IJ waterway. The 12-storey building is designed to house showrooms, offices and a restaurant and is crowned by an impressive roof terrace. For the smallest of the PVH Campus buildings, the waterfall inspired us– a poetic meeting of land and water that we wanted to channel in our design. The 125 Danzigerkade building therefore has an organic, stratified form. Its flowing lines and expanses of sensuously curving glass ‘ripple’ spectacularly to create the entrance. Spread over four storeys, the 4,500m² functions as a central meeting place for all those working on the campus, hence its inclusive horizontal dynamic. In order to encourage interaction, we designed 125 Danzigerkade as a series of landscapes. At its heart, a beautiful, sweeping atrium with abundant lush greenery will be flooded by daylight. Interweaving sculptural staircases will encourage spontaneous encounters between people. On every floor at the rear of the building, wooden decks and gardens will wrap around the exterior, following the building’s curves and culminating in a split-level roof terrace with meeting and lounge places, landscaped greenery and even sports facilities. For the third building in the series, 85 Danzigerkade, we opted to balance with another high-rise volume, albeit of a different stamp. This ten-story structure takes a futuristic turn, with huge asymmetric openings and glass boxes framing eye-popping views of the IJ and the city. Placing these openings on the edges of the building allows the graphic element of the façade to take centre stage, with its sculptural louvres representing the movement of waves. Seen from the water, the three buildings create an intriguing rhythm. The angular forms of the European HQ Calvin Klein & Tommy Hilfiger building gradually morph across the façades into rounded edges and flowing lines. While this building is white, 85 Danzigerkade is black – and in the middle 125 Danzigerkade has grey detailing suggestive of rock strata. The gradation of colour helps to give cohesion to the site. Together, the three buildings will provide a full range of services for the campus occupants. Less tangibly, they will also contribute to the high-quality environment by presenting a rich variety of architectural experiences.

At Home With Nature

At Home With Nature This home is a place where you can stay in connection with the nature. The client wants to live nearby the city of Amsterdam but in a surrounding with trees and nature. The home of the future is the home where we can stay in close contact with nature, with healthy building materials for human and the environment. At Home With Nature is an integral part of the architecture and the nature. The home are perched on an elevation above the forest floor, the forest landscape continuing uninterrupted beneath and around the house. The exterior walls on the ground floor are made out of local ivy and local wood, making the plinth of the home de-materialise, as it were. It seems not to exist at all, giving the upper floors an appearance of ‘floating’ in between the trees and the ground. The variety of trees separating the homes and on the terraces amplifies the image that everything becomes one with the surroundings. The upper floor consists of timber frames with panoramic offering grand views. It is an omni-faceted building where, on the first floor, the spacious roof terraces provide ample opportunity for quality, diverse outdoor living. Such also planting herbs, fruit and vegetables. The plot of land selected already has a number of trees on it. Other trees will be planted as well, to compensate for the CO2 created by building work and also attain a bigger positive reduction of CO2 in our living environment and the atmosphere. The trees situated between and near the home will form part of the support structure for exterior decking. In this way, the trees become one with the architecture and both support each other. By lifting and cantilevering the floors, a building is created that allows the outdoor area to be extended. Voids and recesses inside the building provide open views and the trees between the built areas offer a continuance of the forest landscape.

Valley

The Zuidas area of Amsterdam has developed into the main international business centre, which resulted in a reduced focus on residential interests. Valley is part of the city’s ambition to correct this by transforming the area into a more liveable and complete urban quarter. Valley’s three peaks of varied heights reach up to a maximum of 100-meters at which the publicly accessible Sky-bar sits, spread out over the top two stories, offering panoramic views over Amsterdam. The building consists of 196 apartments, offices, underground parking and various retail and cultural facilities. From street level, a pedestrianised path, running along retails functions, terraces and roof gardens, leads up to the central valley-area spread across the 4th and 5th level and surrounds the central tower. The design of Valley’s vegetation focuses on a year-round green appearance. Valley’s location sits on the border between residential and commercial functions. The concept of the building is rooted in this idea of transition. The design for Valley emphasises the contrast between the corporate history and the more residential future of the Zuidas. The abundance of outdoor spaces and communal green area’s promotes health and well-being whilst at the same time, contributes to the buildings green ambitions. From 2021 Valley will host 'Sapiens', a unique place where young people and scientists can work together on projects that improve our planet. The creative centre will be used as a museum, workshop, and debate centre. The initiative will be launched by Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and real estate developer EDGE alongside MVRDV.

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.

Amsterdam UMC Imaging Center

"The Amsterdam UMC Imaging Center adds unique features to the national health and life sciences cluster. First, it is by far the biggest concentration of cutting-edge medical imaging techniques available in Europe which enables reduced waiting lists, early diagnosis and treatment selection, as well as a better clinical treatment. Second, because of the availability of the latest innovations in diagnosis-support, radiologists and nuclear physicians are able to look with more detail into the anatomical structures and physiological, metabolic and molecular processes of the human body. This enables them to select the right treatment for the right patient at the right time. Third, a uniquely equipped lab is created to speed up medical and pharmaceutical research and cutting the costs of development of new medicines and treatments. Fourthly, a radiopharmaceutical manufacturer ensures the availability of medical isotopes. The realisation of the Amsterdam UMC Imaging Center is an essential step in the redevelopment of VUmc Campus. The Imaging Center is the first in an ensemble of buildings that will eventually enclose the entire courtyard garden. These buildings will all be linked with each other and the hospital in a coherent arrangement by means of a three-storey logistics ring. This logistics ring consists of a colonnade for visitors that encircles the courtyard, a continuous walkway that takes visitors and staff members past each of the buildings, and a logistics route below street level. The main themes for the design of the new Imaging Center are meeting, communication and cooperation. Meeting between patients, caregivers and researchers. Communication and collaboration between these groups will stimulate the development of knowledge and expertise. This creates the synergy that will ensure an world-class institution. The Imaging Center is designed specifically with the patient experience in mind. Patient flows are optimized, with fast and accurate service from the staff at the welcome desks and information desks. Waiting areas will be comfortable and pleasant for both children as adults. The facade represents the identity of the building, reacts to the context and changes its openness on each side, while it also ensures that the building behaves as one entity. The transparent facade of the Imaging Center makes the inside subtly visible. It offers an image of the building like glass photo plate, like a photo light box. The architectural appearance tells something about its interior. In addition, the facade elements form a mediator with its surroundings from the inside out. They regulate the building physical conditions (light, air, sound, sun protection) and the interaction with the outside. In this way conditions can be created that are ideal for professionals (rest and concentration) and offer the patient the opportunity to find a place where contact can be made with the outside.".

EMA office Amsterdam

The Dutch government made a bold promise to the European Union to erect a new tailored made and fully furnished office and conference building for the European Medicines Agency within two years after the formal decision of the European council to relocate EMA from the United Kingdom to the Netherlands. A building of 40.000 square metres gross surface not only to be realised in a fairly unprecedented timeframe, but nevertheless state of the art in terms of architectonical presence, sustainability and quality of work environment for the 900 employees, country delegates, visiting industry delegations and patient groups. We consider an icon to be an exemplary and inspiring performance The new headquarters of EMA are an impressive example of the capabilities of the building sector in the Netherlands. From no plan and no place to a fully fitted office and conference building in Amsterdam in less than 30 months. 40.00 m2 gros surface high end work environment within two and a half year. That is iconic. This is iconic because, despite the great speed, no compromise has been made on the quality of the end result. The striking tower with the deep bronze-colored frames, with oak and bronze custom furniture, with the spectacular overgrown office void, is architecturally appealing and strikingly refined. This is iconic because no compromise has been made about the requirements you should set for an office building in the 21st century. The building is gasless, almost energy neutral, economical with water and a nature-inclusive design with a roof park and nesting boxes for bats, insects and a peregrine falcon. The detailing is circular in design, with the construction, except for the concrete core, as a fully demountable steel skeleton, with a dry-mounted element facade of aluminum profiles and aluminum flashings. A computer floor is located directly on the structural floor so that material is saved and the layout and cabling remains highly flexible. The building will receive an ITS symbol for disabled access. The building receives a BREEAM excellent certificate. This is iconic because building a large office tower appears to be possible in only eighteen months with a great deal of attention to the safety and health of the employees. It was ultimately completed without any major incidents. In addition, there has been no haggling in any way with procurement rules, laws and regulations or otherwise. A public private partnership that truly delivered. We see an icon as an exemplary and inspiring achievement. The new building for the European Medicines Agency is such an achievement.

Oakwood Tower II

A strong driver for the increasing use of timber in the built environment is its potential to moderate the relationship between people and their urban surroundings – to improve wellbeing in a city context. Some of the most iconic tall buildings are expressive of the structural material from which they are constructed – the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the John Hancock Center in Chicago and the brutalist Barbican towers in London. The design of Oakwood Tower II is an attempt to discover the possibilities of the aesthetics of wooden structures. This proposal is located in the heart of the historic centre of a major city in the Netherlands. It is set in a wider complex of office buildings; residential towers; shops, restaurants, sports and leisure and amenities; as well as a parking facility for cars and bicycles topped by an active and green landscaped plaza. The tower’s cross section is oval with a floor print of approximately 24m by 48m at the base. A layered façade comprising crossing certified glulam (glued laminated timber) columns creates a woven like load bearing façade that provides the main lateral stability of the tower. This exterior structure also carries a large portion of the gravity load of the tower. The glulam columns are evenly spaced at 3.6m on the perimeter and extend as straight elements throughout the height of the tower. This creates a hyperboloid 3D form. As the columns rise up the tower they will twist about their longitudinal axis to remain parallel to the façade. All timber columns and walls will run continuous throughout the height of the building, eliminating the tradition platform construction joint. The scheme incorporates social amenities at the base, including restaurants and a terrace plaza café that leads to an upper public plaza. A public bar that offers panoramic views of the nearby park and coastline, the tallest such public area in the city, occupies the upper levels of the tower in an open triple height space.

Freebooter

“We are part of nature in a deep and fundamental way, but in our modern lives we’ve lost that connection. Our studio envisions home and city design that respects both inhabitants and the environment, reconnecting both in the process. Freebooter is a response to that; I see biophilic design as the key to truly innovative architecture, balancing the technical aspects of environmentally conscious construction with the qualitative, lived-in experience of an organic and natural space." Giacomo Garziano Freebooter is the first residential project designed and developed by Amsterdam-based architecture and design practice, GG-loop. The complex, situated on the center of Amsterdam’s Zeeburgereiland and with an eyeline to the Ij River, consists of two, two-bedroom apartments of 120m2 each. Sensitive to Dutch history, customs and culture, the project took as its starting point the Netherlands’ maritime past. Freebooter thus becomes a modern-day ‘ship on land,’ with many references to wind, water and sail. On a land that belongs to this water, a new ship has set sail. The main materials of the build, like a ship’s hull, were limited to wood, steel and glass. The floor plan of each apartment, referencing a ship’s layout, is organic and free-flowing, with step-inclines to spaces that are designed to envelop and ‘unfold’ as the inhabitant moves through it. The project’s name itself is a reference to the historical figure of the ‘Freebooter,’ private freelancers who assembled teams of sailors to explore the high seas. As well as acknowledging Dutch innovation and the nations’ pioneering nature, it was the spirit of the Freebooter that project architect, designer and GG-loop founder Giacomo Garziano sought to bring to the apartments, assembling a highly skilled team of craftsmen and carpenters to help realize his vision. One of the most important features of the Freebooter development is its use of light. GG-loop conducted a year-round study of light conditions to create the optimal shape and positioning of the louvers. This parametric facade enabled maximum distribution of light while simultaneously allowing for an appropriate level of privacy. The project is made of a hybrid structure of Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) and steel, and was prefabricated offsite, allowing for an exceptionally fast build-time of three weeks for the four floors. Finishing the building took place over 6 months.

Gnodde house

The house is located in IJburg, Amsterdam. It’s a semi-detached house with the wish from the client to make a playful and surprising design.

Amsteldok, Amsterdam

Located along the banks of the Amstel river stands the 19,000 sq m building, now named Amsteldok, which dates from 1973. Designed by architect Hugh Maaskant, at the time is was Europe’s largest office building. Nicknamed the ‘monkey mountain’ for its large staggered blocks of concrete. The careful renovation of this building gives office floors maximum heights, with large open floorplates allowing for creative flexibility now and in the years to come. The floor to ceiling glass façade allows natural light to illuminate the inside of this building, green roof terraces (at various heights) encourage creativity and the flexibility of the space allows collaboration where teams can be seamlessly connected. The landscape of WPP and its operating companies is ever changing, the working environment should be adaptable to change also so flexibility has been inherently built into the design to allow for growth, shrinkage, mergers etc. The new feature staircase takes clients immediately from reception up to the shared business hub on level 1. Other shared facilities include cafes, restaurants and bars designed into the project to increase staff wellbeing as well as encouraging movement through the building and creating opportunities for chance encounters. Located on the ninth floor stands a 352sqm roof terrace offering incredible views over the Amstel river and the city. Aimed to inject a lease of life into the building, a roof terrace bar will add further energy into the space. The surrounding neighbourhood, predominantly a residential area has been reinvigorated by the occupation of this large building - there is a new buzz to the locale.

Headquarter Goede Doelen Loterijen

New office for Dutch charity lotteries: energy neutral under aluminum leaves The Dutch organization Goede Doelen Loterijen (Charity Lotteries), with their three different lotteries the biggest group of charity lotteries in The Netherlands, has about 500 employees that have been working at various locations for years. Benthem Crouwel Architects designs the expansion and renovation of their new office, where they can all efficiently work together: a sustainable, open and accessible building that expresses the values this organization stands for. Employees were invited to actively participate in designing their new office. The new building will house a public restaurant, a TV studio and an auditorium that can be used for exhibitions and lectures. An open building, not just for the staff, but also for the beneficiaries and the people from the neighbourhood. The remarkable roof was designed after workshops and meetings with employees. Both the greenery at the old locations and the trees in the park that is close to the new location, are represented in the roof and its construction. The roof is carried by six columns that are shaped like trees, and itself consists of 6.800 leaves of polished aluminum that create a beautiful and organic pattern of light and shadow. By constructing the roof over the entire, existing building, the current patio becomes a large and open courtyard. By choosing to renovate and expand an existing building instead of designing a new one, and by using the newest sustainability techniques, the new housing for the Charity Lotteries will be an almost completely energy neutral building and earns the BREEAM rating ‘Outstanding’.

Jakoba Mulderhuis

Forming a welcoming gateway to the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS) campus, the new Jakoba Mulderhuis bridges the academic world and the city. It gracefully embraces the past through a dynamic relationship with its surroundings, while its flexible interior leaves space to accommodate future educational requirements. Advancing the notion of furthering knowledge through personal exchanges, a high degree of transparency and fluidity, places meetings and accidental encounters at the heart of the building in our soaring, light-filled atrium. Designed by Powerhouse Company together with Marc Koehler Architects and Architekten Cie, the new university center houses facilities for disciplines from building engineering to aviation. These are revealed to each other – and encouraged to mix – by the soft edges of our atrium. Each department has its own floor, with a showcase terrace forming its lively public face. The newly placed volume interacts harmoniously with the existing Theo Thijssenhuis, designed by Friedhoff in 1958. The material of the new façade and the rhythm of the windows blend in a fascinating way. The proportions of the volumes are carefully tuned together. The result is a visual dialogue between the old and the new. Through this intervention, the building embodies the concept of further knowledge through human interaction. The atrium’s soft edges also ensure a balance with the existing buildings next door, while the off-center landmark tower and lower-level block together make an emphatic yet friendly gesture to the outside world. We chose Jura Limestone for the Jakoba Mulderhuis’ facade – rich, warm, yet neutral. The site marks the entrance to the university campus from Amsterdam’s historic center. Our design consists of three elements: a 13-story tower, a 6-story ‘urban block’ and a huge atrium that connects these volumes to the existing Theo Thijssenhuis building. Open, flexible spaces in the interior ensure adaptability is built in for future developments in education and technology. By slicing into the space to create the layered effect of the atrium, we ensured that every department would be visible from the ground floor.

Koivistokade Office Building

Post covid, what is happening to office buildings and the workplaces within them? Is the workplace working harder to pull in employees who now have the option to work from home? Are companies shifting to sharing spaces? The Koivistokade office building proposes a future ready work environment that can be tailored and changed over time. Designed as a flexible Open Building, the building can be easily adapted into housing with the evolving needs of the neighborhood. Every layer hosts a different office space with its own specific type of glass. The raw quality of space, high ceilings, full-height windows, large sunny terraces and green balconies with climbers that function as sun shading, contribute to a unique working environment. In Koivistokade we’ve designed a new landscape for the (city)office, applying our expertise in meanwhile tactics to reinvent how new multifunctional buildings in cities evolve. The load bearing structure is physically separated from the main compounds of the façade and the adjustable and demountable infill systems for installations, inner walls and façade infills. Koivistokade is a shift towards active, textured environments that change regularly and mould to fit their occupants.

Renovation Metro Oostlijn

Over the years, the clarity of the original architecture had become muddled. The line’s identity faded because of subsequent modifications. Passengers complained of a lack of safety, comfort and overal smudginess. The metro operator was in desperate need of a clear strategy regarding wayfinding, advertisement, ticket vending and commercial signage. Escape routes were too narrow and a proper smoke exhaust was lacking. In short, the stations were no longer equipped to face the future. GROUP A developed a design vision, based on enhancing social security, comfort and identity. Our aim was to create a modern metro system which functions adequately, is comprehensibly organised, and pleasant to use. We proposed to achieve this without denying the brutalist DNA of the metro line or even demolish it. But instead build upon it. All 16 stations are different, so GROUP A first evolved the design vision into a Generic Design. This consisted of a set of general site unspecific design interventions, of which the most important are: Transparency We added transparency to the stations by creating large voids near the entrances. This creates overview between different levels and enlarges the passengers’ feeling of safety. It also brings daylight deeper into the station halls which allows for natural orientation. Clusters All wayfinding, advertisement and ticket vending elements are clustered on central locations, well-lit and instantly visible. The clusters are based on a modular design - easy to maintain and accommodate future changes. Clean Floor The clusters are integrated into the walls, to keep the floors clean at all cost Indirect Lighting Wall and ceiling directed spots emphasize the spatial qualities of the original stations. For the above ground stations, with very high concrete ceilings, we designed a lightline with light spots, cameras and speakers integrated. Colour Starting from a monochromatic basis, we used colour strategically. Apart from the wayfinding, colour is used solely to emphasize points in space that require the passengers’ attention: entrances, ticket vending, information and vertical connections. New materials In contrast to the original concrete surfaces, we added new materials like glass, hardwood and glazed tiles. Rich materials that are easy to clean and appeal to a sense of comfort. Identity Patterns and stations names were designed in the modular system of the wall tiles to create an Oostlijn specific “alphabet”. This graphical layer binds and strengthens the Oostlijn’s overall identity. The project was carried out with limited budget and without interrupting daily commuter traffic. After almost ten years of hard work, the Oostlijn has now once more become a functional, comprehensible, and pleasant addition to public space in Amsterdam. A good basis for the next 30 years.

Republica

Republica is a circular urban village and a pioneering project in the sustainable transformation of Buiksloterham, a former industrial area in Amsterdam North. This high-density, car-free development combines living, working, sports, hospitality, and e-mobility within a cohesive urban block of six sculptural buildings and green public spaces. The aim of Republica is to build the future of collective living with a mixed-use concept that fosters community connection and sustainable living. The project’s key target groups include urban dwellers, young professionals, families, and entrepreneurs seeking a modern, environmentally conscious lifestyle. The achieved outcomes reflect Republica’s ambition to be an energy-positive district. The development includes nearly 1,500 m² of solar panels, a 1,2 mWh battery, a smart grid for energy sharing, and rainwater storage solutions, supporting a self-sufficient ecosystem. Republica is part of the EU-funded ATELIER Positive Energy Districts initiative, making it a real-life testing ground for sustainable innovations. The result is peak-shaving of Energy demand, lower energy use and water use and less water overlet to the urban sewage system Through adaptive design and the principles of Open Building, Republica is a model for circularity, with buildings designed to evolve over time and reduce construction waste. By fostering inclusion, sustainability, and a high-quality urban experience, Republica demonstrates the future of resilient, circular living spaces.

Robin Wood

Robin Wood Robin Wood is coming to Centrumeiland in IJburg, Amsterdam: a high quality urban block ‘cut from wood’ that embraces a Tiny Forest. A striking beacon that forms a playful, open connection between a lively city street and a pleasant residential neighbourhood. Here a free-living environment is created, where the green invites you to move around. The building is like the trees; made of wood, self-sufficient and circular. Its modular construction enables both large and small, flexible reconfigurable and linkable dwellings which are easily adaptable over time. Robin Wood gives something back to the island’s residents and invites them to contribute to their own living environment. Robin Wood is a logical addition to the string of beacons on IJburg that give the neighbourhood its signature and identity. The building is characterised by a clear formal language, firm plinths, height accents on its corners and a uniform use of materials. In this way a new meaning is added to the series of striking corner buildings on the island. A wooden, split monolith with sculptural roofline as a landmark. Visible from far across the water. In close-up you experience a layered, transparent and refined building. Robin Wood entices passersby to explore and discover the building. WOOD - Robin Wood is a circular and bio-based building of robust, sustainable materials that match the nature of the site. Using a combination of wood-frame prefabricated CLT in all its manifestations, with recycled aluminum makes it an extremely sustainable and modular building. The 'Tiny Forest' adds a new theme to the palette of public spaces on Center Island. A green habitat that nudges to exercise and contributes to a healthy lifestyle. An attractive environment as a place to stay and to pass through. Residents experience the tranquility of the Tiny Forest at the rear and the expansiveness of the water at the front. CO-LIVING - The building is the connecting link on Centrumeiland and is an ‘urban village’ in itself. Robin Wood houses numerous shared facilities, allowing residents to come into contact with each other in an informal way. Not only with each other, but also with the neighbourhood, creating a unique form of living together. COOPERATION - Robin Wood belongs to its residents and entrepreneurs. Together they form a cooperation, based on an innovative development and community concept: MaMa Pioneers. The program with public functions such as a library, an incubator café and flexible workplaces is guaranteed for the long term. 'Kangaroo units' that residents can rent in addition to their homes make the building lively and flexible. FUTURE PROOF - Robin Wood is a very future-proof building. All units can be linked, creating a wide variety of housing types: live/work units, studio flats, larger linked homes and very compact homes. By building modularly on the basis of the Open Building principles, Robin Wood enables maximum flexibility and adaptability. Now and in the future.

NEMO (museum)

Museum and science center in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Hotel Jakarta

SeARCH in collaboration with WestCord Hotels won the tender of the city of Amsterdam for the development of a unique hotel at the very tip of Java Island. Given the prominent location on the IJ river, the city council wanted a unique hotel concept, not only in its architecture, but also in its public programming and sustainability. HOTEL JAKARTA is an energy neutral building and BREEAM Excellent certified with 200 luxurious hotel rooms and a sky-bar, all offering stunning views over the river IJ. Unique for the Netherlands is its 30-m high load-bearing timber structure. All the beams, columns, ceilings and window frames are made of natural, FSC or PEFC certified timber. For 176 of the 200 hotel rooms SeARCH developed 4-star luxury wooden prefabricated units of 30 m2. All were placed on site within 3 weeks, reaching a height of 30 metres above the quays of Java Island. SeARCH translated structural and architectural requirements into a clever design where thin high-quality prefabricated concrete floors are combined with cross-laminated structural wooden walls and ceilings. Each room fitted on a standard truck, and was delivered to site fully equipped with a passive façade, balcony and complete bathroom for plug-and play, including all necessary technical installations and interior finishes. HOTEL JAKARTA’S south and east façades are covered with Building integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV panels). The 350 PV panels - over 700m2 in total – are fully integrated into the loggias design. The glass rooftop covering the atrium also contains BIPV cells that, simultaneously collect energy and function as sun shading for the subtropical inner garden. An atrium with the subtropical garden is the center of the hotel. It acts as a temperature regulator in both summer and winter. On every side of the building rooms have their own private covered exterior space which functions as structural shading. The single layered glass curtain of these balconies buffers noise and protects from the harsh winds of the sites exposed position at open waters. Above the IJ at the highest point in the triangular building, the sky-bar is fully enclosed in glass. Its tip is a curved double-layered glass with an outer radius of just 600mm. Its roof is made of triple-layered glass. Both façade and roof are brought together via a very subtle glass-on-glass connection, allowing the internal timber curtain wall construction to be visible throughout. HOTEL JAKARTA’S east and north façades are covered with anodized aluminum panels, each with their own unique perforation pattern that combines ancient trade ship illustrations from Amsterdam’s “Golden Age”. HOTEL JAKARTA symbolizes Amsterdam’s historic maritime connection with Asia. It is built on the quay where until the mid-20th century, immigrants would arrive after a long trip from Indonesia. For many families, the tip of Java Island was their first or last view of Amsterdam. The 4-star hotel houses a dynamic public space with various bars, restaurants, coffee corners, a wellness centre and cultural activities, all built around the central subtropical garden. The design and maintenance of the subtropical garden is a result of a collaboration with the Hortus Botanicus and completes the series of gardens on the island. By terracing the ground floor plinth the hotel is publicly accessible on all side through the transparent façade. SeARCH designed Hotel Jakarta as a truly public building. It is a lively cornerstone of the city and a second living room to both the curious globe-trotter, the neighbours of Java Island and the wider inhabitants of Amsterdam.

Pand Noord

AMSTERDAM – Named after its area Amsterdam North, Pand Noord is an old industrial warehouse that has been transformed into a popular creative workspace. This 7.000m2 business complex has been created exclusively for creative industries. The building was purchased by HighBrook Investors and has kept its industrial appearance throughout its renovation. To create a workable interior, HighBrook tasked Hollandse Nieuwe to design a series of calm and unified spaces that could inspire and support a variety of creative industries. The Building When walking from the north, in the site’s oldest building to the newest area in the south, the building reveals it’s expansion and history in a series of linked boxes. From the reception, a long central corridor opens up the various building components and functions, which are interrupted in a few select places by high atriums spaces. The Concept The block box’s original routing felt unbalanced and chaotic, a consequence of the building’s growth over the years. As a workspace housing over 40 creative companies, the building should invite the companies to socialize, but should also offer each single company a space to focus and support the productivity of the employees. The first design starting point was to create a series of tranquil spaces, where light, space and materials blended together to create a sense of organization and unified spaced. Hollandse Nieuwe developed the design concept from a thorough historical and spatial analysis, which lead to the second starting point, based on the existing architectural qualities. Old parts of the building were used as factory halls and its industrial appearance is still very noticeable. The younger part of the building has a rougher appearance, befitting the old industrial architecture of the adjacent sections of the building. A specific wish from both investor and architect was to maintain and highlight this industrial quality. The spatial concept follows the previous starting points. Each space is located in a different part of the building, and each of them have a unique appearance. This characteristic led to a design strategy where Hollandse Nieuwe, based on the themes of each separate space, gave each room the feeling of being a different world. The themes that were chosen for the spaces were based on their historical function and on the palette of materials that were present in each space. The Design The former offices of the industrial company that used to be located at the building have been transformed and now function as the reception area of Pand Noord. Due to its historic character, the reception has a high-quality representative appearance. The use of materials such as oak, alongside the white walls, help to create a calm and transparent experience. The floor itself is also oak in a herringbone pattern. Factory 1 Adjacent to the reception is the first atrium, which houses a meeting area. The grey frames of this area were taking as starting points in regards to what materials should be used. Making the lower half of the space fully grey creates a simple atrium experience with a calm atmosphere. Factory 2 The second former factory hall, a high-ceilinged space with a sloping roof, now serves as the restaurant. The industrial steel trusses were the inspiration for this area. While the entire area has been designed with different materials and textures, all these share the same fresh, light grey color. The oak herringbone pattern found in the reception hall returns here, but in a light natural grey stone. LED-light lines have been attached to the wall vertically, together with the two trees in this area they emphasize the height of the building. The area is spacious and serene and invites the various companies to connect and socialize. Offices The youngest part of the building is a grand atrium with adjacent office space units. The rough concrete interior has been retained and only the red accents in this area have been enlarged and intensified. Like other areas, this it creates a single gesture: an entirely red lower part in the atrium. A large art piece, created by artist ZenkOne, has been placed through the atrium, strengthen its rough character as well as adding red highlights. This art piece depicts numerous unique themes and narrates the rich history of both the building of Pand Noord and its area Amsterdam North.

Pontsteiger

Pontsteiger Pontsteiger is a large-scale residential project in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The building is located at the end of a 200 metre dam that projects into the water of the river IJ. The unusual form was designed with apartment dwellers' preferences in mind: residential demand is highest either at the top of highrises (penthouse views) or at the base to connect to the liveliness at citylevel. In the Pontsteiger designconcept the part in between is simply minimized. The large building consists of a six floor lowrise block that wraps around a plaza on the waterfront. Two slender 60 metre towers at the open end of this block frame the riverview. The towers carry a bridge spanning 48 metres rising to a height of 90 metres above the city. The result is an iconic building that foreshadows Amsterdams growth of highrise buildings around river IJ. The building is elevated 7 metres and set upon a base of four pavillions. The glazed pavillions accommodate lobbies, restaurants, bars and cafes. A marina for the residents of Pontsteiger is located at the westside. The public space on ground level provides access to the water on all sides and creates views across the river in every direction. Despite its scale, the buildings elevated volume creates an astonishing light-footed presence on site and a constantly changing appearance different from every part of the city. Flexibility has been key in the design that dates back to 2007. The original concept proved to be capable of adapting to extreme market forces throughout the project. A mix of floorplan typologies is employed to create apartments ranging between 65 m2 and 410 m2. The pavillions have sensuous curves and are constructed with sturdy timber windowframes. The canopies bring a smaller scale to the ground floor and shield for accosional downburst of wind. In the facades of the highrise a playfully patterned grid of marble-white concrete is set with artisan glazed bricks. The chameleonic tones of green and bronze create a facade that changes with the light and time of day, just like the surface of the waters that surround the building. Extra-large aluminiumframed windows open up spectacular views all around. The large balconies are set within the building volume and are protected by large glass windscreens. All exterior ceilings are clad in timber lending the building a warm athmosphere while referring to the locations history of timberdocks. Project: Residential and mixed-use highrise Status: Commission 2007, groundbreaking 2015, completion 2018 Architect: Arons en Gelauff architecten. Clients: Dura Vermeer Development and De Nijs Devolopment Location: Amsterdam, the Netherlands Site: former ferry landing at the former timber docks in the river IJ Program: Total 64.500m2: commercial and lobbies 2.800m2, car- & bicycleparking, storage 13.700m2, 318 apartments 48.000m2.