'Sports hero neighborhood' in Amsterdam-West crossed the finish line!

Laan van Spartaan, on which a total of seven architectural firms and four contractors collaborated, consists of 1,612 homes, extensive sports facilities, an ROC, a care support center, a restaurant and a supermarket. The whole is built around the fields of soccer club VVA/Spartaan. The combination of free sector and social rental housing as well as owner-occupied, care and student housing not only gives the neighborhood a mixed character, but also allows for lifelong transit.

"Only when you serve all segments of the community do you create a living environment. This philosophy of developer BPD (Bouwfonds Property Development) is done full justice in Laan van Spartaan. "Our main task was to combine a high housing density with social facilities, care and sports," says Edward Zevenbergen, project director of BPD Development North West region. "The smart stacking of various sports facilities convinced the municipality of Amsterdam to award this development to BPD. Working closely with the municipality, we created an overall program for the neighborhood and determined the urban infill, in which there was sufficient room for progressive insights and developments. The 'sports hero neighborhood', with street names such as Bep Bakhuysstraat, Fanny Blankers-Koenlaan and Gerrie Knetemannlaan, falls within the Bos en Lommer area and is situated in the middle of the sports fields. This gives the neighborhood air, space and keeps residents moving and healthy." The neighborhood is bordered by the Erasmusgracht, ring track of the metro, Jan van Galenstraat and ring road A10, he says. "By cleverly dealing with the buildings, we were able to keep the noise from this ring road out of the residential area. On the highway side, for example, a soundproof side was created, in the form of a prestigious and multifunctional building aptly named 'the Tribune'."

Textbook example of functionality and livability

The construction of the Tribune was the starting point of the overall area development. The building stands out for its enormous size, with a length of 200 meters, a height of 13 floors and a specific curve, following the shape of the ring road. The building brings together various facilities, such as a four-story climbing hall with bar and eatery, various offices, a care support center of Cordaan, care and nursing homes for the elderly and housing for students and top athletes. The building was realized by UBA Bouw B.V., commissioned by v.o.f. De Stadstuinen (Bouwfonds Ontwikkeling/BPD and housing corporation Ymere). "The collaboration with v.o.f. De Stadstuinen originated at the Osdorper Ban in the Osdorp district (415 homes on a parking facility) and has continued to the Laan van Spartaan," says Frank Vermeij, business manager at UBA Bouw B.V.. "We were involved in the construction team at an early stage and actively collaborated with the client, architects and structural engineer on issues such as constructability, construction methods and detailing. When we started this project in 2008, the Laan van Spartaan was still a wasteland, except for the surrounding canal and sports fields with canteen. It is very special to see how the area has developed in recent years.     

But also that all construction team partners have given and kept their commitment, for 13 years and in both good times and hard times."

For Vermeij, the Tribune was the highlight of the area development. "The combination of the challenging highway location, the more than 300 homes and the various functions made the realization very special," he says. "Surprisingly, the building has two faces. On the A10 side, a sleek and low-noise industrial facade with aluminum and glass was chosen, while on the Laan van Spartaan masonry and depth and height jumps provide a pleasant, village-like atmosphere. This makes the Tribune the textbook example of functionality and livability."

Middle plot as final agreement

Following the Tribune, the realization of Hof C (154 rental units) and Hof B (137 owner-occupied units) on the Noordstrook along the Erasmusgracht and, after a pause of almost two years, also Hof A (186 rental and owner-occupied units) followed in one construction flow, says Jurgen de Reus, director of UBA Bouw B.V. "From then on, Bouwfonds Ontwikkeling/BPD - as a result of the new government decision-making process - continued as the sole client. We were commissioned by this developer to build another large number of homes, with the 319 rental and owner-occupied units and a commercial plinth on the Middenkavel as the final chord. In accordance with the latest building regulations, the Middenkavel was built very sustainably, including high-quality insulation materials and PV installations. All buildings in the residential neighborhood are also connected to Amsterdam's district heating network."

De Reus praises BPD's decision to take some of the homes into its own investment portfolio halfway through the project so that development and production could continue at full speed. Zevenbergen is also proud: "Large area developments like Laan van Spartaan always go through a number of crises, so we didn't want to be held back," he says. "This is also how the idea was born for the BPD Housing Fund, which develops affordable apartments and single-family homes in urban environments both within and outside the Randstad. Hof A was a successful pilot for this and also an excellent learning project."

Human size and scale

From the Tribune, a kick-off building towards the sports fields has been realized, Zevenbergen emphasizes. "Here we also found a clever solution to the parking issue. Several parking garages above ground level have been realized in the district. By combining these parking garages with so-called back-to-back houses, parking is efficiently hidden from view. The back-to-back solution creates several courtyards. Car-free interior streets are occupied by picnic benches and on the roofs of the parking garages, communal interior gardens are laid out, to which various family homes and apartments look out. Children can play safely everywhere, and all residential blocks are set up so that the front doors of each cluster are visible. Residents know who their neighbors are, so to speak, creating a human size and scale within this extensive project. Everyone in the neighborhood knows each other and social control is high. With this, we have succeeded perfectly in our ambition."  

Construction Info

Client 
v.o.f. The City Gardens (Bouwfonds Development and Ymere)

Developer 
BPD Development North West Region

Architects 
Claus and Kaan Architects, Dick van Gameren architects, diederendirrix, KOW Architects, Studioninedots, DP6

Constructor 
Goudstikker-De Vries, Capelle aan den IJssel

Contractor the Tribune, North Strip and Hof van Spartaan 
UBA Bouw B.V., Uithoorn

Start development 
2000

Construction period 
2008 – 2021