Two complexes with dwellings and workspaces

The combination of the functions living and working, which have always coexisted in this district (Staatsliedenbuurt), formed the starting point for this project. It comprises two complexes. Along Kostverlorenvaart are three tall, slender buildings clad with dark brick. They contain market-sector, owner-occupied dwellings and social rental dwellings. Glazed stair towers on steel columns project on the street side.

Striking elements in the design are the wooden dwellings with lean-to roofs situated between the towers. Workspaces have been created in these dwellings and in the set-back substructure of the towers. They have a large storey height and a glazed facade allowing maximum penetration of daylight. Behind the project on Kostverlorenvaart is, in addition to a small volume with subsidised-owner-occupied housing, a second U-shaped housing complex, which forms the transition from the closed blocks in the neighbourhood to the more open plot layout along the quay.

This complex surrounds a collective inner garden with trees and play facilities. The wooden fronts on the inner precinct and the low-rise on the north side lend this site a village character. In part of the complex, on the ground floor, are workspaces which, if so desired, can be linked to the dwellings situated above. (ARCAM/Bu)