An artifical side canal

The elongated Java-eiland, formerly a work island, was redeveloped in 1999-2000 in accordance with a master plan by Sjoerd Soeters, which was based on an urbanistic programme of requirement drawn up by DRO (1991).

The island is traversed by four artificial side canals. Brantasgracht is the westernmost of these canals. On the corner of the canal are large quayside buildings containing apartments. Soeters designed the building on the corner of the southern Javakade and the canal, whereby the heavy base is ‘folded’ around the corner as an introduction to the canal. The building contains family dwellings and so-called ‘duo dwellings’, in which two people can create their own living space. The canal consists of a sequence of individual plots on which there are residential buildings of varying height with tall and relatively narrow façades. This scheme is derived from the canals in the city centre. The historic canal scheme has been given a modern twist by the various architects. Each architect’s designs have been repeated four times along the island’s canals.

The principle of the different designs has, according to the architect Art Zaaijer, resulted in a rather untidy street frontage, which is why he has opted for a low-key architectural expression for the designs of two buildings on Brantasgracht (numbers 4 and 21). The façade design consists of two brick sides, which form a neutral interface with the adjacent buildings. In between is a vertical strip consisting of anti-sun mirrored glass, a balustrade of green laminated glass and aluminium ‘sun-design’ panelling. The floor plan of the dwellings is determined by a stairwell in the corner on the garden side, which ensures that the individual storeys are as open as possible and can be accessed separately. Because the gardens are rather small, the dwellings also have a roof terrace.
(ARCAM/ BU/VKB)