Westerpark West in Amsterdam is becoming real! What was once an anonymous, isolated office district in Amsterdam-West is to be transformed into a green, lively neighbourhood of around 750 homes, thanks to MVRDV’s strategic masterplan for the former ING office complex. The 70,000-square-metre masterplan continues the landscape in the Amsterdam Brettenzone, directly to the west of the city’s popular Westerpark.
The plan includes 12 buildings, including 5 residential buildings to be designed by MVRDV. Placing an emphasis on green space and architectural diversity, the proposal for Westerpark West is a sustainable response to the ever-growing housing demand in Amsterdam.
MVRDV has challenged fellow architects TANK, Blauw, KRFT, Studio Maks, and DoepelStrijkers to design charismatic buildings that work well together as an ensemble, while still focusing on architectural diversity. By varying the building typologies and the character of the public space, a striking neighbourhood arises in the middle of the city, where the public space will be green and closely connected with the Westerpark thanks to front gardens and loggias including balcony gardens and roof terraces. MVRDV have put great effort into the sustainability of the project, developing an innovative energy masterplan for Westerpark West, with a combination of district heating and seasonal thermal energy storage. Following the principles of material cycles and the circular economy, the masterplan will transform a number of existing office buildings on the site into comfortable and energy-efficient homes.
The first building to be built is “Devoortuinen” by studio TANK. Its construction started on Friday, 22 November. Get an idea of how it will look thanks to the VR tour of the building and its context.