Lot 6 brings young and old together

Contrasting architecture forms one whole

The Amsterdam island of Oostenburg is currently being developed into a lively, bold and contrasting urban neighborhood where people can live, work and recreate. It is becoming a city district for everyone. This is also demonstrated by the Kavel 6 project, where 173 studios for young people and 30 apartments for seniors are being built by Heijmans.

Housing corporation and area director Stadgenoot owns much of the land on Oostenburg. It has sold part of this land, but is also developing several plots itself, including Plot 6. This plot consists of four buildings that will house social housing for young and elderly people. In addition, there is a corridor that will be used by the city yard.

A special approach was taken to arrive at the design. NEXT architects, together with the young architectural firms Urban Echoes and HOH, were selected to create a design together. They created a contrasting architecture, giving each building its own identity. Yet Lot 6 forms one whole. "We approached a long list of young architectural firms. They could enter a competition and the ideas of these three firms best matched our wishes," says Karlijn de Kruif, development manager at Stadgenoot.

Wishes of the target group

The designs had to meet a number of requirements. The specific needs of the target group were researched beforehand. These included the need for bright housing with wide galleries for seniors. Each building had to have its own entrance and collective spaces, such as a communal garden, a washing facility and bicycle storage, and a lively plinth.

The four buildings consist of a tall one, whose facade will be made entirely of Corten steel, a small building with a wooden cladding, a building made of white brick and a fourth building with a facade of black modular bricks. NEXT architects is the most experienced firm and designed the tallest building. In addition to its own building, HOH also designed the corridor and communal courtyard garden. An indoor garden and a roof garden on the corridor will be designed as green meeting spaces.

Thoughtful choices

All these designs must, of course, form a coherent whole. That is why there is a supervisor overseeing the ensemble and close consultation with the design team and construction company Heijmans even before the Preliminary Design. "This allowed us to make efficient and thoughtful choices that fit the design, the budget and the building location. For example, the building system was established early in the process," says Hennie Mulder, design manager at Heijmans. "For the building system, there was really only one option that sufficed, and that was prefabricated construction. With this, we reduce construction traffic and cause as little inconvenience to local residents as possible. The buildings are made with a precast concrete shell."

Sustainability

Of course, Lot 6 will be completely gas-free. There will be a WKO installation with soil loops. The homes will then be heated and cooled using individual heat pumps. Solar panels will be installed on the green roofs. Plenty of work is being done on sustainability, says Mulder: "Good insulation and a balanced ventilation system with heat exchanger have been chosen. The heat from the shower water will also be recovered. The roof of the corridor will have a roof garden with water retention system."

Everyone equal

When the homes are completed, tenants can move in almost immediately. They are delivered including carpeting, wall finishes and complete kitchens. Residents will be selected a few months before delivery. De Kruif and Mulder agree that the end result will be good. This is partly because the cooperation within the project is so good. De Kruif: "We make use of each other's knowledge and switch quickly. There have been challenges, for example with the building regulations, but they were dealt with quickly."

Mulder is also appreciative of the way they worked, although it is always challenging when working with multiple architects on a project. "As a builder, we had input so we could steer it to a feasible whole. We had the entire design worked out in a BIM model. The collaboration is very pleasant because everyone is equal. In a relatively short time we have already delivered a nice result."