Day 3 - Amsterdam West

June 01, 2012

Today I walked to Centraal Station to catch the tram out to the Geuzeveld / Slotermeer / Osdorp regions of Amsterdam, which are primarily residential urban areas.  To sustain me on my trip, I bought a package of zukergusskuchen, these little donut type pastries made with lots of butter.  Like most Dutch sweet things, they were very tasty.  It was about a forty minute tram ride out from the center, but it was quite interesting to get away from the busiest and oldest parts of Amsterdam.  In other cities in both Europe and America, as the radius increases from the urban center the density (population and built area) tends to decrease.  This is not necessarily so in Dutch cities, including Amsterdam.  With such a small ground footprint, the Dutch do all they can to fit as much real-estate in as possible.  While this sounds like the developer logic seen in the US, the difference is that the Dutch have approached this as a design problem, using it as an opportunity, and as such are experienced with designing efficiently and intelligently.  This is the theme specifically of the housing projects that I looked at today.  I set out to see two or three projects in particular, and stumbled across some other really well-designed buildings.  Additionally, even the typical residential buildings that were not designed by a "high-profile" architect had similar sensibilities.  These social housing units do not compare to social housing in the US.  Much of that has to do with governmental imperatives, and what is given priority in design.  Amsterdam, as well as much of the Netherlands, is an artificial landform situated on top of the water.  This coupled with the flatness of the landscape contributes to many imperatives unique to the Dutch eye. 

The first project I went to see was MVRDV's Parkrand (trans. park edge) apartment housing, completed 2007.  Built as a part of the urban renewal of the Geuzeveld-Slotermeer region, the building was intended to provide an iconic quality to the neighborhood while situated to promote the public space.  It's true: there is quite a lot of green space in the area with bike paths and benches, especially with the park behind the units and approaching them from the Dr. Collinjstraat tram stop, as I did.  The building certainly is an icon of the area.  However, the highlight of the building in my opinion, are the void spaces, the in-between holes.  These quite sizable voids correspond  with the recurring theme of the "keyhole" or layered spaces.   This is right out of a Pieter de Hooch painting, only...centuries later.  A note to consider later: is it easier to layer something that has more inherent three-dimensionality (depth), as opposed to a row-house for example, that shows up in de Hooch's paintings?  On another note, one could explain the necessity of the layering and voids due to functionality - primarily to let in an adequate amount of light.  This is another theme of Dutch social housing, and an imperative of the architects MVRDV, as will later be seen in the WoZoCo apartments.  Balconies are important as well, although you don't see them in the central area.

As another replacement for the Geuzeveld region, the Ripperdahof is a U-shaped residential complex.  On the exterior (brick) the surfaces are generally austere and closed off, but the interior (steel) opens up to become more transparent, with views out to the interior courtyard garden, providing access to the apartments and acting as balconies.  Note the windows cleanly framed by wood both on the interior and exterior.  

Continuing with the post-war regeneration is another project in Amsterdam West, the Nieuw Peil designed by Meyer and van Schooten.  Many of these rebuilt projects remain disparate from their context (austere modern architecture juxtaposed with formal/material/visual oddities of contemporary architecture).  The Nieuw Peil also stands out from its context but in a more thoughtful way, making use of concrete with a white granite aggregate, a shade that radiates with lightness opposed to the surrounding dull gray and brown buildings.

After this I made a bit of a trek to the Osdorp area, through which I had to traverse down a busy street surrounded by thick vegetation.  Even in such a rural area, the bike lanes and pedestrian sidewalks still existed, for which I am glad.  Then I arrived back into an urban area, with plazas that reminded me of Endwell (without parking lots).  The next two residential buildings were sited right next to each other, standing in stark but compelling contrast.  Het Waterfort by KOW Architecture is comprised of 130 apartment units, located literally on the Sloter Pond.  When I visited, there was even a man fishing in the pond.  Here the brick fort is framed by the white contour, which transitions into the inner white planes.  Layered keyhole spaces can be found into the interior courtyard, though not as dramatic as some others.  Next door is the Shutterstoren, a tall cylindrical (high-end) aluminum and glass apartment building supported by a comparatively slender concrete base.  Inside are 54 apartments and two luxury penthouses at the top.  This building is somewhat of an anomaly in the area.  As I walked to my next destination I came across a housing complex that reminded me of Le Corbusier's proposed housing in Algiers, which is quite similar to the Smithson's 'streets in the sky' concept implemented (unsuccessfully) at the Robin Hood Gardens. 

Then, I finally reached the building I had set out for: MVRDV's WoZoCo (Oklahoma) apartments for the elderly.  This was one of the first buildings I did a case study of during my second year first semester during our housing unit.  This initially sparked my interest in Dutch architecture and primarily their approach to housing, so it was quite surreal to be actually get to visit!  The key elements here are the multi-colored balconies, the jutting cantilevered volumes, and the translucent-transparent hall on the elevation facing the main road (a very SANAA-esque move).  The front faces a busy street, but not far past that is a large field and farm with lots of cows. 

At this point, my left ankle was hurting quite a lot from being on my feet all day, so I decided to walk back to a tram stop.  On the way I stopped by two more housing projects, both different than anything I had seen today.  The first was a three block residence, similar to others with its public space in the center, but shorter at only three stories.  This responds to the rest of the buildings in the neighborhood however.  What would be sterile white modern-looking concrete (reminiscent of Portuguese white boxes) is softened by the articulation of wood around the edges.  The residence is sited between two parks, allowing access in between.  The other building is called De Opgang, designed by KCAP as a mixed-use development, with 79 housing units, a church, child care, and parking garage.  This stands out from the other buildings in its slate materiality, but is similar with its inner public courtyard. 

And with that, I caught the tram back and got off at Dam square.  Walked through the Spui and found the American Bookstore, which has a really cool interior.  On my way back to the hotel I walked through the Rembrandtsplein and stopped into a FEBO - where you can get fresh Dutch food from vending machines in the wall.  I know, it sounds weird, but it was pretty cool.  I enjoyed my sandwich thing with an Amstel beer (I say that because I honestly have no idea what it was, or what kind of sauce it had but it was surprisingly delicious nevertheless).  Good productive day!