Crystal Court is located on a relatively small plot in Buitenveldert. This project consists of 37 stacked villas on a parking garage. The complex is built from a number of separate sculptures that stand on a minimum footprint on the ground and become wider towards the top. The blocks are stacked so that, despite the high density, they create as much open space and views as possible. The space between the buildings is a huge atrium. In this space, various water features with fish and native plants have been created.
Two extremes this time. Buy-to-let properties in Buitenveldert for the top of the market and in the Bijlmer for the much more modest market.
First things first: that top floor. At Gelderlandplein, the development and construction company Hillen & Roosen was commissioned to build a complex with 152 residential units and a block of 110 rental units instead of three schools and a daycare center. Plus, on Willem van Weldammelaan, something “for the limited upper segment”, as director Pieter Wassenaar (43) of Hillen & Roosen puts it. “Then it has to be something unique. And for that we came across the architectural firm Tangram.”
They knew that. “When we first showed the mock-up, the client had to take a moment to take it in,” says Bart Mispelblom Beyer (52) from Tangram.
His colleague Charlotte ten Dijke (also 52): “We decided to create four sculptures with exceptionally large blocks, which can be freely arranged. This is achieved by using hollow floors. And thanks to the large glass atrium, the neighborhood retains its view of the park behind it.”
“The construction was not ordinary,” admits the client Wassenaar. “That glass construction with ponds in which all kinds of aquatic plants grow, and the wooden-clad facades: it cost us a lot of trouble.”
There was also the fact that last year the development and construction company Hillen&Roosen went bankrupt. The homes had just been completed, but the communal part had not yet been finished.
Wassenaar: “For the residents, that was a setback, but I am convinced that everything will turn out well.” This naturally moderated the residents’ rating, but they still came up with an 8.2. They also clearly differ in opinion from Ronald Hooft, who took a stand in his column in this newspaper last week. In summary: could it be a little lower?
“It’s a particularly interesting design, but it doesn’t really stand out,” says resident Edwin Basten (47). “It’s not controversial; it’s nicely adapted to its surroundings. That’s acceptable in a neighborhood that’s known for being boring and monotonous.”
Basten paid 750,000 euros for his 180-square-meter apartment, and another 60,000 for a parking space. But the 36 apartments in the complex are all different in terms of location, layout, size, and price. A top-floor apartment of 250 square meters with three large terraces around it cost 1.9 million euros.
Basten lived in Maarssen, but wanted to return to Amsterdam. “First I looked in the canal belt and in Oud-Zuid. That’s not only very expensive, but also impractical; it’s old houses. It might be less romantic here, but you do have a lot of living comfort according to the latest standards.”
The jury is also very positive. “A beautiful eye-catcher,” judges Riet de Graaf. The apartments are extremely expensive, the jury believes, but it’s good that there are also projects like this in the city. However, it would have been nice if it had been possible to finance it with the large sums of money involved.
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