westerpark west is a new amsterdam neighborhood designed by MVRDV

MVRDV has developed a masterplan that will transform an isolated office complex in amsterdam into a lively residential neighborhood of around 750 homes. located in the amsterdam brettenzone, directly adjacent to the city’s westerpark, the plan includes 12 buildings, five of which have been designed by MVRDV. placing an emphasis on green space and architectural diversity, the proposal for ‘westerpark west’ has been conceived as a sustainable response to the increasing need for housing in the dutch capital.

zout [salt] (left), designed by MVRDV, and pepper (right)
image © CIIID (also main image)

‘amsterdam urgently needs housing in all sorts of sizes and price ranges, for both purchase and rental,’ says nathalie de vries, co-founder of MVRDV. ‘given the large number of homes that this project adds to amsterdam-west, we have focused entirely on architectural diversity. the public space will be green and closely connect with the westerpark. the combination of park and urbanity is unique to amsterdam. where else can you live in a park in the middle of the city?’

blend, also designed by MVRDV, features generous bay windows
image © CIIID

as part of the 70,000-square-meter masterplan, MVRDV challenged fellow architects TANK, blauw, KRFT, studio maks, and doepel strijkers to design ‘charismatic buildings that work together as a good ensemble’. MVRDV itself designed the blend, zout, westerblok and two still-unnamed residential buildings on the most westerly lot. meanwhile, the landscape has been designed by gustafson porter + bowman, who in 2003 designed the park around the westergasfabriek, extending the landscape of the westerpark to its current boundaries.

the inclusion of greenery is an important part of the scheme
image © CIIID

the original ING office building, which dates back to the 1980s, will receive a new green façade and a staggered roofline that creates roof terraces at a variety of heights, all enclosing a courtyard with a wooden façade. the compact residential buildings on the western plot, some of which lean a little in order to open up the space and reveal vistas, have spacious corner apartments with expressive balconies.

one of the buildings designed by MVRDV in the western section of the plan
image © CIIID

the energy masterplan uses a combination of district heating and seasonal thermal energy storage. following the principles of material cycles and the circular economy, the plan will transform a number of existing office buildings on the site into comfortable and energy-efficient homes. the project also includes catering, a child day care, and three underground parking garages with charging points and shared cars.

the isolated site on amsterdam’s haarlemmerweg will become a vibrant new neighborhood
image © CIIID

westerblok is a renovation of an existing 1980s office building
image © CIIID

project info:

name: westerpark west
location: amsterdam, netherlands
year: 2015+
budget: undisclosed
site area: 26,000 sqm
program and size: 70,000 sqm residential masterplan

architect: MVRDV
principal-in-charge: nathalie de vries
partner: frans de witte
design team: fedor bron, mick van gemert, mark van den ouden, laurens veth, sander bakker, marina kounavi, anna brockhoff, gerard heerink, marjolein marijnissen, damla demir, catherine drieux, herman gaarman, clémentine bory, daniele zonta
images: CIIID

landscape architect: gustafson porter + bowman
structural engineer: pieters bouwtechniek utrecht
MEP: techniplan and DWA
cost calculation: IGG
building physics: DGMR
sustainability advisor: iLINQ
advisor: HBB groep