Text description provided by the architects. SeARCH has designed a new residential building of 120 studio apartments for students or young professionals, located right beside our own offices on the Spijkerkade in Amsterdam North.
The district, originally an industrial area, is undergoing very rapid transformations. In the urban redevelopment process, creative industries are finding their place in the former factories and warehouses, creating a new dynamism in the North. With the development of new transport links from the City Centre district to North district, such as a new metro line and a pedestrian bridge, the area is in need of new housing. Therefore this was the ideal location for this residential complex.
The individual studios are fully furnished, prefabricated concrete modules, which are stacked on the building site in six layers of 20 units.
On the ground floor the modules have extra height to be used as the entrance of the housing building, the concierge office, postal boxes, bicycle storage, Laundromat and a communal lounge. The complex is built in a U shape around a central garden and terrace with barbecue, open to all residents.
The façade is made of COR-TEN steel elements added to the prefab modules to create circulations and private balconies with a view towards the IJ River. It reveals its unique color after rainy days and enhances the industrial character of the building.
