Platform on new construction, renovation, restoration and transformation
How do you realize a large task of rental housing in the social and middle segment in Amsterdam, in a new part of the city with an industrial past? That was Architekten Cie.'s challenge for Het Dok in Noord, completed earlier this year. The project includes a 150-meter-long commercial plinth equipped with three towers up to 74 meters high, with 314 free sector rental units and 135 social rental units, in the vicinity of the former NDSM sites.
In recent years, the NDSM wharf has been enriched with a selection of large apartment buildings. As a result, the former port site is emerging as a hotspot for metropolitan living. The most recent addition is Het Dok, initiated by COD after a design by the Architekten Cie. Het Dok marks the entrance to the wharf from Noord. This is where the "metropolitan and port-city" character of urban development converge, according to the designers.
The building volume consists of a transparent, east-west situated plinth 150 meters long on TT Vasumweg, topped by three sturdy towers of up to 23 stories. "The challenge for us is to create a city within a city, with references to the port's past," says architect-partner Pero Puliz of de Architekten Cie. The Dock thus forms a "stacked city by shifting volumes, stacking three different facade grids and brick facades combined with concrete grids. In terms of typology, it refers to harbor warehouses with stacked containers. "At 23 meters, the Dock has become a deep building, and we solved that by creating full transparency in the glass plinth. Space experience and daylighting we achieve in the residential towers by integrating large windows into the design, which run from the floor to the ceiling."
In the lower part of the complex, storey floors extend into the balconies. In the upper segment of the towers, the architect has provided a staggered facade line. These tower segments are finished with extensive concrete grids. The 449 dwellings are between 45 and 106 m² in size. A large number of dwellings are located at the corners of the towers and therefore have views to two sides; penthouses are located at the top of the towers. Underground is a parking garage for a
one hundred cars provided, and bicycle escalators provide access to an indoor bicycle storage area on an inset floor. This keeps the first floor free for public functions.
Het Dok and the surrounding residential blocks of the NDSM site possess many amenities. "For example, Het Dok includes roof gardens for residents, as well as a boxing school, and nearby is the museum Street Art Amsterdam," Puliz said. "As a result, the concept of space transcends the residential block."
The Architekten Cie. had a strong involvement in the structural design. The Dock was designed so that it could be built in a prefabricated system in terms of facade and support structure. "This is possible because of a clear structure and high degree of repetition in the design. The underlying structure of all three towers is the same, while maintaining a dynamic facade appearance."
"With this design, we realize a substantial addition to the contemporary housing market and a contribution to metropolitan development while maintaining identity. This prevents these bulky building volumes from becoming transit spots and creates a new piece of urban destination," Puliz concluded.
Mounting aluminum window frames and curtain walls in precast facade element
and important role in the realization of Het Dok's prefabricated facade system was played by Polybouw Aluminium. In its own, computer-controlled production facility in Rijssen, the required windows and doors were produced. On site at the prefab producer in Groningen, the aluminum facade technology specialist assembled the glazed and finished aluminum frames in the prefab facade elements. These were then transported to Amsterdam and assembled there.
Sprawling is a 1,200-unit precast facade element for the apartments, equipped with aluminum tilt-and-turn windows and doors. "The project was built completely scaffold-free. Therefore, a lot of time was spent on engineering and logistics beforehand," says project manager Peter Webbink. Polybouw also manufactured and assembled the aluminum curtain walls for the commercial plinth. "The first floor curtain walls were assembled directly on site in Amsterdam. In terms of engineering and scope, Het Dok has become a great reference for all parties involved. A beautiful work, produced in Twente."
