Kraaipan: Transformation project with a combination of renovation and new build

As part of the transformation project in the Transvaalbuurt area of Amsterdam Oost, the monumental Kraaipan School has been renovated and two new housing blocks have been built on Hofmeyrstraat and Transvaalkade.
The architectural office Hoogeveen was inspired by the existing development in the area when designing the new build.

Work started on the construction of the Transvaalbuurt in 1903, in accordance with a master plan by H.P. Berlage. In many places, the development here exhibits the characteristic features of the Amsterdam School. The urban structure of this neighbourhood has been altered slightly by the newly completed project. The continuous development on Hofmeyrstraat is now interrupted in the middle – a perfect mirroring of the development on the other side –, giving rise to a new urban square. As a result, the rear elevation of the Kraaipanschool now forms the main entrance to the school building.

The new urban blocks, executed in pale yellow brick, are in keeping with the surrounding architecture. They have the same height variations, for example, as the block opposite on Hofmeyrstraat. The façade has more than a hundred different window frames, creating a vibrant street frontage. The artist Martijn Sandberg designed a floor artwork for the new square, with the text ‘Morgen komt alles goed’ (tomorrow all will be well) in a brick pattern.

The area has an import social care function for the neighbourhood. The new build blocks contain fifty so-called WIBO dwellings: dwellings for senior citizens with care support. In addition, there is a children’s day care facility and four group dwellings for the elderly with dementia. On the ground floor of the historic Kraaipanschool there is a neighbourhood service point together with a number of social rental dwellings.
In 2014, the project was nominated for the Amsterdam Architecture Prize. (GB)