The Amsterkwartier will soon be enriched by a new iconic building. After the development of Haut and the QO hotel, the all-round and sustainable building design "Elements" was selected by the city of Amsterdam as the winning design for the realisation in the new Amsterdam city district. The building, with an approximate height of 70 metres, offers space for 70 medium-priced rental homes and 74 private sector homes, with commercial facilities on the ground floor, and a green woodland courtyard and roof terrace.
With its iconic, sculptural form, Elements completes the Amstelkwartier's skyline
The Amstelkwartier has a pure urban design with clear 'Amstelkoppen' and sharp corners. Elements enriches the skyline of Amstelkwartier and Amsterdam with an elegant, solitary, 70-meter tall tower. With its light, all-round, metropolitan character, it relates to the other high-rise buildings, and forms a prominent and recognisable benchmark. Thanks to its unique sculptural character, it simultaneously obtains its own identity with multiple inviting faces, which shows a changing perspective from different angles. Sharp corners and setbacks are softened by the rounding of the horizontal lines and the play of light on the glossy and matte bronze-coloured materials.
Shaped by the Elements
Elements was not designed in a traditional way, but had developed from the various aspects that influenced the assignment, such as the urban envelope, the sun's orbit, daylighting, optimal energy generation, water collection, influence from the wind, and inclusion of green for more biodiversity. All these elements are included in a parametrically designed 3D model in collaboration with Arup.
Hundreds of variations were subsequently generated, from which the most optimal and thus also the most sustainable model was ultimately selected through a series of analyses. In the final design, the houses, as well as the PV panels that are incorporated in the balcony edges, have optimal sunlight. The wind climate on the street, on the roof garden, and in the courtyard, has been optimised as well.
Energy-supplying and large CO2 reduction in materialisation
Elements will be an energy-supplying residential tower: from BENG to ENG. With the solar panels integrated in the balcony edges, more than 100% of the energy requirement is generated sustainably. Even more innovative is the hybrid wooden-steel-concrete support structure. This should save more than 50% on the CO2 burden of the used materials. By creating a concrete floor every six meters in height, with wooden floors in between, space has been created for double-height houses where the connection between the two layers is also flexible and adaptable. After all, that wooden floor can quite easily be given cut-outs or extra floor surfaces. Moreover, by creating a radical separation everywhere between the carrier and the installation, between the support structure and installations plus finishing, the houses are also much more flexible in terms of the future.
For the substructure of the residential tower, Boom Landscape designed a roof park and an inner garden with lots of green and trees in the open ground. On top of that, the entrance on the side of Bella Vistapark will have a winter garden with subtropical plants.
This should really turn it into a meeting place for the residents of the building and the neighbourhood. On the park side of the building, there will also be room for a commercial program, such as co-working, which can change into a more social program in the evening. At the head of the building will be "Bar Seasons", the facade of which can be fully opened when the weather is nice. This way, Elements responds optimally to the environment by respecting its neighbours as they are and opting for a good relationship.
Inclusive residential tower with unique residential products
Elements will feature a broad mix of housing typologies. On the one hand, because this meets the demand of many Amsterdam residents. On the other hand, because many different housing types attract different target groups, which together can form an inclusive residential community. In this popular location, we build large and smaller homes, for rent and for sale, with high quality and private outdoor spaces. Especially noteworthy is the fact that the studios (middle segment with rent) are nicely situated between the owner-occupied homes, and that we offer the double-height loft at great height with buyer options for the floor plans, unique in the Netherlands.
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Stage: Winning competition / design phase (construction is expected to start in the third quarter of 2021)
