Living in a container

In the Houthavens, on the edge of the district Spaarndammerbuurt, a new residential development is scheduled to be built a few years from now. Until then, the area is being used to house students and for recreation.

Near a former asylum seekers? centre and a cruise ship with student accommodation is a complex containing 715 student dwellings, 72 temporary dwellings and a café-restaurant, built using a prefab system with standard containers. The containers measure nine by thirteen metres and contain a kitchen unit, a douche and WC. The containers are stacked in two or three layers and are accessed via a central corridor. There are six different polyester lower fronts with different window dimensions and differently coloured strips in between. The fronts have been combined in different ways, giving rise to colourful street facades. The building volumes have a verandah over the entire length of the plinth and a roof overhang supported by slender columns. These elements serve to unify the project, thereby creating a real neighbourhood. Three inner courtyards function as meeting spaces; two are provided with greenery, the third houses a café-restaurant with a panoramic view of the Houthavens. (ARCAM/Bu)