BLOK 29, IJBURG
NEW TYPOLOGY | INTELLIGENT INTENSIFICATION | DENSITY | FUNCTIONAL MIX | GREEN | SOCIAL COHESION | MA-SSA MEANINGFUL EMPTINESS
Location
Amsterdam IJburg
Description
161 dwellings, 24 are handicapped accessible, 2000 m2 commercial space, parking garage
Client
Waterstad 3
Completion
2006
A SMALL VILLAGE
IJburg is a high density district in Amsterdam. That density had to be achieved with at least sixty percent ground-access dwellings. This calls for the strategic use of limited space within urban blocks.
Compact in design, Block 29 interweaves living, working and recreation. The plot arrangement, a matrix of mesh sizes, results in a range of environments, varying from metropolitan living along the main access route to secluded living overlooking the collective ‘urban rooms’.
The ground-access houses around these outdoor rooms are arranged in such a way that the bordering area becomes a transitional zone between public and private.
Externally, Block 29 reads as a compact entity, wrapped for the most part in expanses of brickwork that are interrupted by urban gateways and narrow alleyways. The façades to the courtyard, by contrast, display a high degree of plasticity and openness, articulating the transitional zones between public and private.
The combination of various typologies — live-work units, commercial spaces and apartments — results in a surprising configuration, proving that high density can lead to atmospheric, good-quality living environments.
The block also contains 19 housing units for the elderly, part of them mentally disabled, with a medical center, meetingspace and central kitchen and psychiatrical care.
