Project Info
Architects: ZZDP Architecten
Location: Almere Buiten, The Netherlands
Architects In Charge: Joris Deur, Adam Smit
Project Team: Lysann Theiler, Jeroen Nieuwenhuizen, Ramon Gianotten
Roofscape Design: Buro Sant en Co.
Area: 23,300 sqm
Year: 2010
Photographs: Courtesy of ZZDP Architecten
Introduction
Through the last few years the city of Almere has undergone through a urban renewal. The masterplan for Almere Buiten consists of mixed use building blocks with housing, retail and other social services. To make the blocks a more attractive living space the Quality Team Almere put an emphasis on “Extra Green” , so the project Block 3 introduced a roofscape over the commercial plinth inbetween the two residental blocks. The roofscape consists of green islands underlying on an linear barcode -pattern pathway. In this way the strict geometry of the apartment blocks and the natural forms of the roofscape are in contrast.
Details
On one side the roofscape sinks into the ground level making itself visible from the street. It is also interacting with the residental blocks forming organically shaped balconies that merge with the green islands. Block 3 is consisted of an orthogonal plinth with commercial use under which there is a two – storey parking garage with 500 parking spaces.
The two residential blocks are placed above it, forming a microurban situation offering,together with the roofscape, their residents a private leisure area and park. The facades facing of the residental blocks that face the street are a grid of textured white Croatian limestone. The appartments size varies from 55m2 to 110 m2 and all have spacious outdoor areas within the main volume of the block. The entrance is through the central core and through the entrances in the plinth. The different facade surfaces differentiate the commercial from the residental function. Block 3 handles retail and modern living in an attractive manner offering a living quality for it’s users but also on a larger urban scale for the whole area.
