The ten plots were originally intended as self-build plots for individuals. Although self-build ultimately did not happen at this location, the idea was used as a starting point for the design.
Initially, ten different spacious, light patio homes were designed. The basis of each home was an eight-meter-wide shell. All homes were given a south-facing waterfront garden with a view of the Diemerpark. The facades, materials, surface areas, and floor plans differed per home.
When Dirk Jan van Wieringhen Borski (40) enthusiastically talks about his home on the Lisdoddelaan on the Kleine Rieteiland (IJburg), it is in a double sense. He is not only the resident, but (together with office colleague Martijn Bleichrodt) also the architect.
“We designed a house on a vacant lot across the street. Nothing was happening on this side. So we wanted to know what was going on,” Borski explains. “It was just a bad time for the housing market after the attacks of September 11, 2001. The intention was for individuals at this location to be guided in building their own homes. We were then asked, together with developer Sikking Vastgoed, to build homes on ten lots.”
It was a difficult process. It was not private, as initially intended, but neither was it standard. The urban design had to remain intact, so every plot required an individual design for a custom home, but within strict boundary conditions.
Borski drew up a master plan, but varied within it with different materials and volumes, up to 250 square meters. "I wanted to offer the buyers a helping hand."
The result breathes luxury. "Expensive? Well," Borski puts it into perspective. "I paid half a million, and for a home of 160 square meters on such a large plot of land, with an unobstructed view, by the water, in Amsterdam, that's not bad." His home was delivered as a shell for that price, however. It was also very complicated for the builder. "What initially looked like ten identical homes turned out to be ten completely different projects during execution," sighs Jan Brammer (53), the operations manager of contractor K. Dekker BV.
For example, five of them still have a large basement underneath. It was not easy to connect those homes properly from a technical standpoint. But in the end, there wasn't a single problem we couldn't resolve. Everyone's wishes were fulfilled.
“This is also a completely different product in terms of quality than serial construction,” adds Klaas-Jan Dekker (45), the director of the contracting company. “It all remains manual work. Every project is unique, which is a challenge for us as a contractor.”
The residents are very pleased with the cooperation with the builder and the architect, as they indicated on the completed report forms. They call their neighborhood an oasis of peace and space, while they can be in the center in no time with the IJtram.
The jury that compiled the top ten was also impressed by the prime location: on the waterfront with its own jetty, with an unobstructed view of the Diemerpark. That does come with a price tag, however.
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