During a festive gathering in the Zuiderkerk, Minister Vogelaar of Housing, Urban Areas, and Integration presented the first Amsterdam New Construction Award to client and contractor Hillen & Roosen and Architecture Office Geusebroek Stefanova for the new construction project De Monnik.
This apartment complex is located in the heart of the Red Light District, in Amsterdam’s historic center. The residents are extremely satisfied and gave it a rating of 9.8. The jury praised the building’s appearance, its compact layout, and the quality of its finishes. 30% of the Amsterdam residents who voted on the website chose De Monnik.
De Monnik consists of nine separate buildings located between Bloedstraat and Monnikenstraat. The project includes 32 apartments, ranging in size from 42 to 80m2. According to the architects, the building is a contemporary interpretation of the old city.
They were cheering with joy, the proud residents of the downtown apartment complex on Bloedstraat, Gordijnensteeg, and Monnikenstraat.
Her building has a stretch of white, blind wall, against which the award she received last night from Minister Ella Vogelaar – and an ornament with the New Construction Award logo – stands out well.In any case, better than the stone facade from De Monnik, which the residents received from their developer, Hillen & Roosen. The award ceremony was the festive highlight of the New Construction Award Evening in a crowded Zuiderkerk in Amsterdam. "It is good that citizens are"It is good that citizens are involved in construction plans," said Vogelaar. "They know what they want."
"I am incredibly happy," reacted Karin van Rheenen, a resident of De Monnik. "This is also an acknowledgment of the choice you dared to make."
"I had hesitated for a long time," says her neighbor Ellen van der Horst, "living there alone as a woman? But I didn't need to have those sleepless nights. It's getting more and more beautiful."
It was a neck-and-neck race between Centrum and IJburg for a long time. Relatives and acquaintances were mobilized from both parts of the city to vote specifically for that one residential complex. Halfway through, IJburg was still in the lead, with Rieteiland West block 3a in first place and Haveneiland West block 11ab in third. De Monnik was in second place at the time. However, De Monnik's supporters made a decisive final sprint. This new development ultimately captured the imagination of so many voters that it became a clear victory. Many voters waxed lyrical when they explained their preference. An anthology: 'The design is fresh and modern, yet in harmony with the old objects around it. Well done!' 'No fussing with old-fashioned facades, but simply bang, different, new!' 'Simplicity radiates strength.'
With 1,646 of the 5,376 votes cast, 30.6 percent, De Monnik received more than double the votes of the second-place finisher. Rieteiland West block 3a received 750 votes, almost fourteen percent. The much larger complex Haveneiland West block 11ab (145 homes) came in third with 498 votes. IJburg is already a story in itself in the entire competition for the New Construction Prize. In that new part of the city, we find one-third of all the homes that participated. Of the 44 projects that were eligible, fourteen are located on IJburg. However, the residents' findings appear to be very diverse. In eight of those fourteen residential blocks, they gave a grade below the average of 7.5. Only four complexes made it into the top twenty, and the amateur jury that had to select the top ten only allowed two from IJburg. Among the losers is – remarkably – Haveneiland West block 23b2, which received the Zuiderkerk Prize from the professional jury at the end of last year.
This involved evaluating the architectural and urban planning design, the price-quality ratio, the sustainability, and the adaptability of the housing project. The jury – Felix Rottenberg (chair), Marina van den Bergen (architectural historian), and Herman Zeinstra (architect) – chose the block on IJburg over the two other nominees, the Leeuwenhoekcluster between Wibautstraat and Weesperzijde, and Simon III on the Lijnbaansgracht. The Leeuwenhoekcluster finished in fourth place (490 votes) in the Amsterdam New Construction Prize, and Simon III came in sixth (456 votes). However, Haveneiland West block 23b2 was not included in this competition at all because the residents only gave their building a grade of seven.
This illustrates the arguments of Frank Bijdendijk, director of housing association Het Oosten and co-initiator of the Amsterdam New Construction Award. He didn't want an "establishment trophy for the establishment," but rather to know "how citizens react to what we offer." Well, he and his colleagues from the other housing associations, as well as the housing developers from the Ontwikkelingsbedrijf Gemeente Amsterdam (OGA), the other initiator, know now. From the report forms that residents were allowed to fill out, they have gained a wealth of information about what Amsterdam residents desire from their homes and living environment. It is therefore significant that De Monnik not only received the most points from the voters but was also honored by the residents themselves with the highest possible report card grade: a 9.8. The lay jury – René Berbee, Ans van der Hall, Pablo Herrera Paskevicius, Gert-Jan van Rooij, and Angela de Smet, five randomly selected residents from projects that did not make the top twenty – had also placed De Monnik in their personal top three (and quietly hoped that Simon III would win).
The award for De Monnik is also a triumph for the architect duo Peter Geusebroek and Svetla Stefanova. They are featured twice in the top ten (De Weerbare Man on Govert Flinckstraat is also their work). Pim Köther and Ton Salman also have two projects in the top ten. Their architectural firm is responsible for Simon III and for the large project De Loodsen in the Eastern Docklands. Geusebroek and Stefanova are beaming with their award. "That people also seem to find this very good architecture means more appreciation to us than a professional award," says Geusebroek. "We took a chance," Stefanova adds, "with our artistic interpretation of the historical characteristics of that location. But the success is also thanks to the boldness of the developer."
Bas Kluts of Hillen & Roosen, developer and contractor for De Monnik, is visibly pleased. His company was handed the job after others had failed. It turns out that building in the monumental city center presents unique challenges and requires a lot of experience. Kluts passionately explains what his most important task was: "To create a facade that would receive approval from the Zoning Committee on the first try. And we succeeded." The second task then was: to build without getting into arguments with the neighbors in the narrow streets. That also ultimately succeeded. "You have to have a connection with the city," he explains. "But what I find most impressive is that this small project, hidden in the city center
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