Residential building Het Facet, on the corner of Postjesweg and Witte de Withstraat, opposite the national monument Het Sieraad, is part of the restructuring of the Chassébuurt in the former De Baarsjes district. The building block is part of the Gordel 20-40, Amsterdam's interwar expansion neighborhoods. Many housing projects from that era were built in the Amsterdam School style, including those in the Chassébuurt.
The corner building that stood in the place of Het Facet has been demolished because it was in too poor a condition. The new construction project has replaced this corner building and blends naturally into this historical environment. The building volume, detailing, and use of materials have been chosen in such a way that the urban cohesion of the neighborhood has remained intact.
The complex contains 500 m² of commercial space and forty distinct apartments.
The commercial spaces are located on Postjesweg. Below them are the storage rooms for the commercial spaces and the residences. These storage rooms connect to the level of the communal inner courtyard. All apartments have their own terrace or outdoor space facing the communal inner courtyard.
The Poort van Chassé was the monumental residential block that, together with its neighbor across the street, the School of Goldsmithing, formed the entrance to De Baarsjes past the Kinkerbrug. The vocational school, a listed national monument, has been beautifully transformed into a building with a creative purpose. The residential block did not survive.
“The foundation was rotted and the homes no longer met current standards,” says Ida van Witsen (45), project manager at housing association Ymere. New construction was not so simple either, because the Postjesweg is a dike. You can see the Witte de Withstraat slope downwards. The basement of the old building along the Postjesweg had to be preserved to hold back the dike. This now houses bicycle storage for the new residents. Digging a parking garage beneath the new construction would have made the homes unreasonably expensive.
“This is a popular neighborhood,” Van Witsen says, “which attracts many young households. During the renewal of this neighborhood, the housing supply had to become more varied.” Consequently, in place of 31 social rental homes, there is now a large block with forty owner-occupied homes. New homes became available for the social tenants in De Wending, further down the Witte de Withstraat.
The new building had to take over the gateway function of its predecessor and therefore fit the surroundings in terms of shape and material, which date from the nineteen-twenties of the last century. Architect John Buijs (52) was already involved in a renovation further down Witte de Withstraat. "I looked at those facades very closely and the brick is still available. We also used the same masonry joints. The traditional construction of this neighborhood is making a complete return in Het Facet. The result is a pleasant building of today, that fits into its environment, that does not push itself to the foreground. It sits very well in its place." The jury that selected the ten nominees completely agrees. "Het Facet is a very nice project," judges Ed van den Boogaard. "I think it really stands out," chimes in Els Klaassen. "These are surprising homes, in terms of both space and price."
Even more enthusiastic are the residents, who gave it an average rating of 8.5. They, too, praise how well it fits into the surroundings, but are especially pleased with the rear, where large balconies overlook a secluded courtyard with plenty of space to sit, play, and picnic. City noise does not penetrate there. And the prices were modest for Amsterdam. An owner-occupied apartment of 86 square meters cost 260,000 euros, while Mark Koppenberg (36) shelled out 390,000 euros for 120 square meters. His home looks out onto the Witte de Withstraat through tall windows and has a raised living room at the back with the bedrooms underneath, which open directly onto the large courtyard garden. Because the Witte de Withstraat slopes downward, this row of ground-floor apartments gets progressively higher and even features a mezzanine as an extra space.
Koppenberg: “Our family of two children lived in a sixty-square-meter apartment on Curaçaostraat. We were looking for more space, but not an upstairs apartment. We had almost given up hope when we saw a sign for this project. We were lucky: we were selected in the ballot.”
“We did have our doubts: the intersection at such a busy spot, with trams. But it’s ideal: the sound insulation is perfect and in the courtyard you can safely let the children play outside alone. You can see the neighborhood coming to life more and more, everyone here is very satisfied.”
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