'valley' by MVRDV tops out in amsterdam's zuidas district

‘valley’, the MVRDV-designed mixed-use project containing apartments, shops, offices, and cultural institutes has reached its peak of 103 meters (338 feet). the 75,000 square meter (807,300 sqf) project will bring greenery to amsterdam’s zuidas business district thanks to its landscape of jagged stone terraces, bay-windows, and balconies, with dense planting designed by landscape architect piet oudolf.

all images © ossip van duivenbode, unless otherwise stated | video courtesy of MVRDV

designed by MVRDV for EDGE technologies, ‘valley’ consists of three towers, with the project’s name taken from the carved void at its center. the accessible part of the valley stretches up to the fifth floor, and will be publicly accessible via staircases that wind upwards from the ground floor. below the valley is the ‘grotto’, a large interior hall providing access to shops and offices, clad in natural stone and lit by two large skylights that also serve as ponds.

‘now that the highest point has been reached, it is clearly visible what valley can be: an oasis for the zuidas,’ says MVRDV founding partner winy maas. ‘you go from a corporate CBD, like the ones you know all over the planet, into a human and green environment, forming a literal and visual transition towards the city of tomorrow: a city that is green and accessible, dense and human. the apartments with their densely planted terraces have a radically different appearance, small-scale and friendly; they ensure a human scale.’

with the project nearing completion, the naturalis biodiversity center and vrije universiteit amsterdam have teamed up with EDGE technologies and the why factory, MVRDV’s think tank at TU delft, to launch sapiens — a creative hub to be used as a museum, workshop, and debate center. here, young people and scientists will be able to collaborate on projects that improve our planet — an initiative that aligns with the objectives of the building’s design. construction started at the end of 2017 with the building expected to complete in 2021. see designboom’s previous coverage of the project here.

rendering of illustrating the completed scheme | image by vero visuals
see designboom’s previous coverage of the project here

project info:

location: amsterdam, the netherlands
year: 2015+
size and program: 75,000 sqm, mixed-use, residential, offices, cultural, retail and parking
budget: undisclosed
design: MVRDV – winy maas, jacob van rijs and nathalie de vries
competition: winy maas with jeroen zuidgeest, anton wubben, luca moscelli, sanne van manen, elien deceuninck, marco gazzola, jack penford baker, brygida zawadzka, francis liesting, annette lam and hannah knudsen
design team: winy maas with jeroen zuidgeest, gijs rikken, gideon maasland, guido boeters, wietse elswijk, saimon gomez idiakez, rik lambers, javier lopez-menchero, sanne van manen, stephanie mcnamara, thijs van oostrum, frank smit, boudewijn thomas, maria vasiloglou and laurens veth

partners —
client: OVG real estate, the netherlands
investor: RJB group of companies
contractor: G&S bouw B.V. and boele & van eesteren B.V.
landscape design: deltavorm groep & piet oudolf, utrecht, the netherlands
engineering: inbo, amsterdam, the netherlands
cost calculator: BBN adviseurs, houten, the netherlands
structural engineer: van rossum raadgevende ingenieurs, amsterdam, the netherlands
installations: deerns, the hague, the netherlands
building physics: DGMR, the hague, the netherlands
parametric façade design: arup, amsterdam, the netherlands
real estate consultant: CBRE, amsterdam, the netherlands and heeren makelaars, amsterdam, the netherlands
images: vero visuals, rotterdam, the netherlands
diagrams and drawings: MVRDV
graphic design: plusone, amsterdam, the netherlands
model: made by mistake, rotterdam, the netherlands