‘Buurt 9’ (Neighbourhood 9) forms part of the garden cities west of Amsterdam. It consists of 174 standard small housing units, located in three L-shaped buildings and positioned next to a small park. The new design relocates the housing into one compact but impressive volume thereby conserving more space for the park. The proportions of the outline for the block, 135 m long by 34 m high and 34 m deep, could be considered as mansion-like in relation to the even more spacious park. A new ‘country estate’ arises that adds character to the park.

The towers are positioned in such a way that they do not block views from the neighbourhood to the park. They also allow all of the apartments a view to the park and an orientation to the sun. This is achieved by perforating the roof plate in three places. The perforations are repeated at the ground floor, forming two courtyards that offer light, view and access to the apartments on the first level. With these techniques, the Parkrand building adds both more ‘garden’ and more ‘city’ to the developing Western Garden Cities of Amsterdam. It continues in the optimistic architectural tradition that characterizes the history of these neighbourhoods.