Architects in conversation

“WE HAVE CREATED A KIND OF FRIENDLY GIANT: AN ICONIC BUILDING THAT YOU WOULD LOVE TO CALL HOME.”

Gijs & Joost Baks — Space Encounters

The Vold occupies a special location in the Amstelkwartier. How did you begin the design process?

“The Amstelkwartier consists of a number of distinctive buildings — ‘specials’, as it were — that serve as landmarks within the wider urban plan. The Vold is one of them. The municipality specifically asked for an iconic, robust residential building that would also feel welcoming. We thought that was a wonderful challenge.”

“As a firm, we find these kinds of projects particularly interesting. We like ‘specials’: locations where the parameters are slightly different and where you cannot simply design a row or stack of homes. Many different elements came together here. That is precisely when it becomes interesting for us to create a building that truly belongs in that particular place.”

“The building’s position and shape give it a highly distinctive identity. The roofline and terraces come together to create its recognisable V-shape. Because the building steps down towards the park, it also has a very expressive character. That led us to what we call a friendly giant: a large, recognisable building that still feels welcoming and that you would love to call home.”

The relationship with the park seems to have played a defining role in the design.

“Absolutely. This is a high-density urban environment, yet the ambition was also to create a healthy and pleasant place with plenty of room for nature. That is why the building steps down towards Bella Vistapark — as though the trees in the park continue into the building’s gardens.”

“The cascading greenery is very recognisable within the design, but it serves another purpose too. The gardens create small neighbourhoods within the building. You can easily pop over to a neighbour to borrow a hammer or have a cup of coffee. In that sense, The Vold becomes a kind of urban oasis.”

“What worked particularly well during the design process was how the different choices increasingly reinforced one another. The building’s shape brought more light into the homes, the terraces introduced greenery into the building, and the horizontal bands were also given a role in generating energy. With every successive step, the design became stronger.”

“AS THOUGH THE TREES IN THE PARK CONTINUE INTO THE BUILDING’S GARDENS.”

The Vold brings plenty of activity to the ground floor. How does that relate to living on the floors above?

“The ground floor will accommodate various amenities for both residents and people from the surrounding neighbourhood. These will make the street livelier and safer. To us, a high-quality ground-floor programme is not only about safety, but also about creating a sense of community. The people who live here will naturally meet one another downstairs. This will encourage a greater sense of care and responsibility for the spaces both inside and around the building.”

“What I personally really appreciate is that you can seek out that liveliness whenever you feel like it. Inside your home, you can enjoy complete privacy. Whenever you need peace and quiet, you can simply retreat. So you really have the best of both worlds.”

And how does this distinctive shape affect the homes themselves?

“It creates an enormous variety of home types. The building’s shape also means that the façade facing the light is especially long, allowing the homes to receive an abundance of daylight. The angled façades give every home its own distinctive character. It really does mean living in a special place within the building.”

“Something we consider very important in residential design is high-quality green outdoor space. We made that an integral part of the design from the very beginning. Everything comes together beautifully on the cascading terraces: you are in the middle of the city, sitting on your own terrace with greenery quite literally right in front of you.”

“YOU CAN SEEK OUT THE LIVELINESS. AND WHENEVER YOU NEED SOME PEACE AND QUIET, YOU CAN SIMPLY RETREAT TO YOUR OWN HOME.”

So greenery plays a role in several different ways?

“Yes. The greenery can, of course, be found in the planting on the terraces, but it also returns in the architecture — for example, as an accent colour around the window frames and in the detailing. At ground level, plants grow upwards against the building. This makes nature a genuine part of the architecture.”

“Sustainability has also been integrated into the architecture. Solar panels have been incorporated into the horizontal bands that wrap around the building. I think that is important: choices like these are not separate additions made afterwards, but an integral part of the design.”

Looking at the design now, what are you most proud of?

“What we are perhaps most proud of is that the vision we outlined together at the very beginning still stands. From the programme and quality of the homes to the materials and overall form, the most important qualities have been retained and developed further throughout the process.”

“We selected the materials to ensure that the building will remain beautiful and retain its quality over the long term. Ultimately, however, it is about how it feels to live here. We hope that The Vold will become an optimistic, pleasant and cheerful building, filled with natural light, natural materials and greenery. A place you will be happy to come home to every day.”