Residential and retail centre

The residential and retail centre ‘Ganzenpoort’ consists of a rectangular slab structure in which shops, offices and social-rented dwellings are situated on all sides, so that there is no lack of public security at the rear of the building. On top of the slab base, along the edges, are blocks which range in height from four to nine storeys and contain owner-occupied dwellings.

One of the more unusual dwelling types is the ‘kangaroo dwelling’, which enables a family member to live at home independently. In the inner court of the largest block are a closed parking space and an extension to the supermarket. The elevations have a strict pattern of identical windows which give no hint of the range of dwellings behind. The complex has been built as part of the social and urban regeneration of Bijlmermeer (Amsterdam Zuidoost). Together with a new community centre and a children’s farm, this complex is to form the new centre of the neighbourhood. (ARCAM/BU)