The 19-floor building in Blok 6 of the Overtoomse Veld is a part of the densifying plan for the Westelijke Tuinsteden (‘Garden Cities’), an area originally developed in the 1960s in Amsterdam West. The architectural expression of the new building designed by Office Winhov is inspired by the surrounding aesthetic legacies of those times, including the traditional architectural vernacular of the original buildings.
Characterised by abundant outdoor spaces and horizontal lines that highlight volume and accent the height of the adjacent buildings, the facade is built up out of prefab concrete elements in rhythms that scale across two or four floors. This anchors the building in its context, with a sense of proportioned order that emphasises plasticity and texture – as opposed to a simple stacking of single floors.
For this apartment building with 174 subsidised rentals for starters, the housing cooperative De Key had the ambition to develop a special building that emphasises the quality of life of its residents. Enabling more and larger openings for daylight, the apartments in the building are organised in the length instead of the depth as is usually the case. The maximised use of space also allows for a variety of living zones. In short, the challenge became the result: small-scale apartments of unique high-quality.