New West | Amsterdam

Apartment building should contribute to greater diversity

New West as a trigger for Overtoom Field

The New West apartment building is an exponent of the renewal that Overtoomse Veld in Amsterdam-West is undergoing. With its owner-occupied and free-sector rental apartments and amenities, it should contribute to greater diversity in this neighborhood with a large share of social housing.

The City of Amsterdam sees the Overtoomse Veld as an area with great potential. As an expansion area of the city center, the neighborhood needs to be refocused and further densified in the coming years. "In the tender issued for this project, therefore, an important condition was that the project had to add value to the neighborhood," says Helmich Heutink, director of the Heutink Group, which managed to win the tender. "The commercial, service and social functions that will be included in the plinth of the building will be an enrichment for the neighborhood. In addition, it had to be a sustainable and distinctive building that would act as a draw for people from other neighborhoods in Amsterdam. The municipality deliberately kept the land price relatively low, which made it possible to enable high quality in this project."

The plinth of New West will include a child care center, a hairdresser, catering in the form of coffee and lunch store Coffeemania and workspaces where (local) residents and freelancers can find a place to work. Heutink: "An artists' collective has found shelter in an exhibition space in the plinth. That group focuses on art that is related to the various resident groups of Amsterdam-West; it involves high-quality art with a connection to Moroccan and Turkish influences. In that way, this collective wants to hold on to certain values of the neighborhood."

The interior of a double-story loft apartment.

'High demand'
With its location on Postjesweg, other amenities are also close by. The accessibility of New West by public transport and car is excellent; there will be a parking basement with 65 spaces under the building. The Rembrandtpark, Sloterpark and the planned Spoorpark are just around the corner. Heutink: "The location in relation to Schiphol Airport and the Zuidas is also excellent. 

Designed by Olaf Gipser Architects in collaboration with Ulrich Architecture, the range of apartments for sale and rent in New West is quite diverse. From penthouses and double-height, flexible loft apartments to starter homes and apartments for expats. The 87 apartments range in size from 60 to 177 square meters. Says Heutink, "All the homes feature spacious balconies and luxurious, large windows. There is great demand for apartments in the non-regulated rental sector; expats in particular are an important target group. The houses for sale have a great variety and a large degree of layout freedom. The forty lofts extend over two floors; the residents can arrange and finish these six-meter-high spaces themselves. There are many collective spaces for the residents, such as the courtyard garden with a pond, which also collects rainwater from the roof. On the south side is the 'city window,' a large glass facade with platforms behind it to which residents can give their own interpretation, and which they can furnish themselves."