area development; part of Haven-Stad Amsterdam

location
Amsterdam is becoming increasingly crowded and space for development is scarce. In order to create new opportunities, Haven-Stad – part of the port area within the A10 ring road – was designated as an area for transformation in the Structural Vision for Amsterdam 2040. After a motion was passed by the city council, the Transformation Strategy for Haven-Stad was drawn up and adopted by the said council in July 2013. The aim of the strategy is to develop Haven-Stad into a mixed urban area.

Sloterdijk I South is part of Haven-Stad Amsterdam. On 17 May 2016, the municipality presented the Strategy Paper on the Transformation of Sloterdijk I which looked at the opportunities for and the desirability of area development for this area.

design
Sloterdijk I is to be transformed into an urban living-working area with an attractive high-quality environment, as a link between the development of Houthavens and the new dynamic Sloterdijk-Centrum.

The plan of Knevel Architecten includes the design for the development of a plot with an area of 11,300 m2. At street level, there are plans for a layer of commercial/social building development with an average height of 8 metres (2 floors). This building development will fill the construction area as much as possible and will be ‘hollowed out’ where there is an inner street or a square.

Above that, up to a height of 20 metres, residential blocks with apartments, studios and/or maisonettes (4 floors) for which common outside space is provided at a raised ground level at a height of 8 metres. Above 20 metres, there are the towers with various housing typologies. In order to guarantee views and sufficient sunlight, these towers have been arranged in a ‘chequerboard’ pattern. The side streets will be used for local traffic, as access roads for car parks, short-term parking (loading/unloading), cyclists, pedestrians, trees and access to commercial premises.

The building development along the side streets enhances the quality of the public space. The walls directly along the street have a maximum height of 20 metres: above that, set-backs have been used. The ‘zone’ principle has been introduced in order to provide a pleasant transition between the public side streets and the private sphere within the homes. This zone is not distinctly public or private and can therefore be (temporarily) ‘owned’ by anyone.