Building smart and efficient area transformation

The post-war office strip Brettenzone in Amsterdam (Westerpark West) is being transformed into a residential area under the supervision of MVRDV. Commissioned by CBRE Investment Management, J.P. van Eesteren is realizing a project there consisting of three architecturally varied buildings. "We deliberately did not choose the fastest shell construction method in order to be able to achieve extra speed in the finishing phase," says project manager Jeroen Dunnebacke.

The realization of the 'Salt, Pepper and Blend' buildings is a logistically challenging operation, both in terms of location and methodology. 'JP' also included the 2020 demolition of the ING offices in the contract; accessibility from the busy access route Haarlemmerweg (across the Haarlemmervaart canal) was limiting for the construction parties with one bridge. Dunnebacke, who calls this specialty utilitarian housing construction: "We worked out the project from the final design to the technical design. This included a number of aspects of a logistical nature that were important in the implementation planning."

Custom solutions

"With high-quality utility construction, you want to be able to build efficiently, with as little inconvenience to the surrounding area as possible. We therefore brought in a number of customized solutions, such as temporarily damming part of the canal for access to the site and temporary use of the new parking basement by construction workers." The two-story parking basement will soon be shared, among other things, with nearby De Voortuinen, another former ING office in the plan area that has been transformed into a residential building.

Construction method

The next challenging aspect concerns the construction method for the overhangs. The structure under Salt (with 48 meters the highest building section) has a weight of 80 tons, that under Pepper a weight of 70 tons. The installation of sheet pile walls and grout anchors required consideration of a quay wall, and temporary support structures were placed under Salt and Pepper for the large overhangs. The shell will be constructed with a full basement and poured walls with prestressed wide slab floors. Dunnebacke: "That way you can quickly make spans and create free floor fields."

The project involves three differently finished buildings. Blend will have a sand-colored natural stone facade and homes with bay windows, Salt will have a ceramic white facade and a commercial plinth, and Pepper will have a dark brick facade and a rugged look. The builders blended the shell construction of three differently finished buildings into a similar rhythm. For the finishing phase, it was important to be able to maintain sufficient speed toward final delivery. "In short, with a rhythm of three weeks per floor - fully staggered - we are 'building shell' a little slower than is technically possible. In addition, we let the façade closure run concurrently with the shell construction according to a high-rise methodology, so that during and after façade closure, completion and delivery can be faster."

Fall 2023

Customized project engineering and therefore typical 'JP,' said the project manager, who was also involved in the sustainable HAUT elsewhere in the city. MVRDV's master plan for Westerpark West involves the development of twelve buildings by various developers. Cooperation in sustainable development is the starting point, also in the realization of Salt, Pepper and Blend. Demolition debris is reused as much as possible for concrete production. In addition, the WKO facility will soon be shared with other projects in the planning area. The area development also has a shared environmental manager, who provides, for example, that environmental greenery is carefully handled during construction. Completion of Salt, Pepper and Blend (a total of 302 rental apartments) is scheduled for the fall of 2023. "This spring the buildings will be wind and watertight and by the end of the summer period we hope to be ready," Dunnebacke concludes.