Under the supervision of DKV, Heren 5 Architecten designed the northeastern head of Block 14. All principles of IJburg, such as diversity, multiple architects within a single block, and built-over parking, were applied in this project. Between Boulevard Noord and Binnengracht, a shallow block of approximately 50 meters was constructed, consisting of seven closely interrelated volumes. The exterior of the block has a robust appearance with formal entrances. The inner courtyard is informal, featuring a semi-public courtyard and private interior gardens on the roof of the parking garage.
The exterior of the U-shaped head of Heren 5 consists of light yellow sintered bricks, large openings, and reveals, similar to those of a warehouse. The interior has the same color scheme, but is executed there in rough-sawn wood and concrete. All 42 apartments have three rooms and a French balcony on the facade. The boulevard and head apartments have a combined terrace gallery facing the inner courtyard. The canal apartments have a gallery on the inner facade and a large south-facing loggia on the canal.
Between Daguerrestraat, Bert Haanstrakade, and Talbotstraat on IJburg stands a large rectangular block of 153 homes surrounding a spacious inner courtyard. The complex is an urban design by Dolf Dobbelaar, then still with the architectural firm DKV, but two other firms were brought in for the execution: Kempe Thill and Heren 5. The result is a highly varied appearance, with a row of single-family homes here, an apartment block there, and in between, as eye-catchers, floating homes—two-story houses with high vantage points that nevertheless have no upstairs or downstairs neighbors.
Kempe Thill's block did not make the top twenty. DKV's components did, but were not nominated. The homes designed by Heren 5, however, were placed in the top ten by the jury. It was a tight squeeze for all of them, says Fred Langeslag, director of IJ-Delta Ontwikkeling, a partnership between builders ERA and Smits, Bouwfonds, and housing association Ymere.
“We were given the assignment: build 43 social housing units, 75 for the Amsterdam middle-income mortgage, and 35 for sale in the private sector, plus commercial spaces, parking lots, and hospitality, so you know it doesn't fit. We haven't chosen the most lucrative solutions. We were concerned with what is best for the entire Haveneiland, with the ambition that suits IJburg.”
"The contours were fixed," adds Jan Klomp, architect at Heren 5. "But we were able to determine the content." On one side there would be a block of social housing, and on the other, owner-occupied homes for the Amsterdam middle-income mortgage range. Two stairwells were supposed to go in between, because sharing the same access for owners and renters wasn't going to work. Fortunately, that was abandoned for cost-saving reasons, but the result was that space remained for three long, narrow homes about thirty meters deep, with no fewer than seven windows on the side. A floor plan that seemed almost impossible to do anything with on paper, but where Joke de Jager (56) lives with great satisfaction.
“I came from outside the city and was looking for something in town, preferably by the water and away from the crowds. I found this apartment through Google,” she says. For 295,000 euros, she has 120 square meters of living space and 25 square meters of outdoor space overlooking the quiet courtyard; the parking space cost another 31,000 euros. A long hallway running alongside all those windows serves as an extra room, so to speak, and at the far end of her home, she looks out over the wide IJmeer. “I like IJburg because of its sleek, bold architecture. And the courtyard is landscaped so that it is very attractive in both summer and winter.”
And more residents feel this way, as they gave their complex an 8.9. The view, the light, the waterfront location, the courtyard garden – they all praised these positive aspects. One specifically mentioned the good mix between owner-occupied homes in various classes and social housing.
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