Block with single-family dwellings and apartments

This block of single-family houses and apartments occupies a strip lying between the wide, dignified avenue of IJburglaan and the banks of the so-called Green Corridor. The avenue and the corridor both had a significant influence on the plan.

The block design also reflects the fact that the short western end of the block lies on an access road but the short eastern end adjoins a quiet plaza without through traffic. The character of IJburglaan called for a tall facade, so the single-family units on this side are four storeys high. The total building height exceeds the sum of that of the storeys, since the block rests on two partially submerged parking garages.
The soft banks on the south side, which is private land, called for the greatest possible contact between the dwellings and the waterway. The difference in height between the building and the banks was therefore reduced by burying the parking garage somewhat deeper and raising the gardens a little higher than proposed in the design specification. As a result, residents enjoy a view of the terrace on the roof of the parking garage from their gardens.
The section of the single-family units formed the basis of the block layout. On the other hand, the apartments at the ends of the blocks operate as accents. Their greater volume enables them to imply a direction for the mass of the block; for example, the western apartment block gains a vertical emphasis, and the eastern one gains a horizontal emphasis. The facade of the one-family units is predominantly vertical, making the individual homes legible. (OGA)