In KCAP's urban development plan, a strong architectural coherence was sought within which the components from different architects had to be recognizable as individual buildings. The urban development plan emphasized the intended coherence in the block through extensive material and color proposals.
In the design, the masses of the building components are transformed into independent buildings through the treatment of the facade. The facade is a fabric of masonry; piers and bands that wrap entirely around the buildings. The notion of a skin or fabric that "envelops" is reinforced by the subtle plasticity that occurs only within the thickness of the facade (compare weft and warp in fabric). The facades appear light despite the heavy material.
The premise for all floor plans is that a house is constructed from spaces with their own identity and not from an addition of functions. Thus, each floor plan offers the possibility to use certain spaces for different functions, depending on how the residents choose to use them. The entrance hall of the apartments forms the hub, around which spaces are located that can be connected and used in various ways.
The 'water dwellings', with a seventeen-meter-long facade along the water, have many potential uses. The detailed floor plan is one of the options.
The similarity between the two blocks on IJburg, which the jury of the New Construction Award deemed worthy of the top ten, is remarkable. Just like Rieteiland West Block 3a, described last week, Haveneiland West Block 11ab was also designed as a large rectangle with inner courtyards. And just as architect Thijs Asselbergs did on Rieteiland, Irma van Oort (42) and Evert Dorresteijn (41) from architecture firm KCAP opted for 'urban outer walls and soft inner sides'.
But the complex on Haveneiland is much larger: 155 homes, both for sale and (social) rent, plus a residential care complex and commercial spaces. Furthermore, it is intersected by one of the canals that characterize IJburg. And on top of that, Van Oort and Dorresteijn were bound by strict structural regulations, and the market deteriorated after the turn of the century. Yet they are proud that their original design was allowed to remain by developer IJ-Delta, in which Woningstichting Zomers Buiten, Bouwfonds, Era Bouw, and Smits Bouwbedrijf collaborate.
“We wanted a piece of city with a lot of variety and different types of housing,” says Irma van Oort, “buildings instead of walls.” They broke their plan down into smaller blocks, which differ in color and were designed by three different architectural firms; in addition to KCAP, also the pairs Hugo Beschoor Plug with Isabel von Fournier and Ruth Visser with Markus van Aalderen.
The result was well received by the jury that compiled the top ten. "That variety of facades means the block isn't monotonous," judged Pablo Herrera. The playground in the inner courtyard that leads out to the water, however, caused Ans van der Hall some concern.
"We wanted to incorporate the water," explains architect Van Oort, "and we wanted to create play areas between the homes. To do that, we had to group them very cleverly."
The residents are very pleased with the courtyards ('intimacy and coziness'), the diversity and 'human scale' of their homes, and the bright spaces they live in. They give an average rating of well over an eight.
"I consider that a special compliment," responds Dorresteijn. "It always remains to be seen whether the residents embrace it the way you intend."
As an example, the architects cite the water houses, which they situated in leftover narrow, long plots along the canal. Pauline Briesum (45) lives in one of them with her husband.
"We used to live in Hilversum, but my husband is happy to be back in Amsterdam," she says. "He works here, and we mainly wanted to get away from Hilversum because of the traffic jams."
"We often drove past IJburg, and then we just walked into the sales office one time, without really looking at other places in Amsterdam. We love water, and this house is fifteen meters along this canal." For their home, with 195 square meters over three floors, they paid 485,000 euros, including a spot in the parking garage. "IJburg took some getting used to," Briesum admits. "I was attached to the coziness of 't Gooi. But now I really like it. Many young people live around the inner courtyard. And many children who live elsewhere come here to play. And I find it pleasant that IJburg is gradually becoming a bit more multicultural."
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