Westerdok Apartment Building

Openness as design concept: The minimal amount of materials used, glass, steel
and concrete, results in maximum openness for the façade.

The building which has just been completed with a total surface of 6000 m2
contains 46 apartments and a day-care centre. Each apartment has a balcony of
varying depths which stretch as bands along the entire facade, offering varied
outside spaces and views over the western docklands of Amsterdam. The floor-
to-ceiling glass façade can be fully opened and contrasts with the other buildings
within the so called 'VOC Cour' port redevelopment that are mainly made of
brick.

The urban plan is a closed city block with buildings of differing heights
surrounding a central court. After two earlier urban plans failed, the client O.M.A.
(Ontwikkelings Maatschappij Apeldoorn) has in fact determined the current urban
plan. The MVRDV building is located inside the court with one façade facing the
waterfront of the Westerdok. The project started in 2004 and is currently one of
the nominees for the Amsterdam Architecture Award.

Motor City Competition

Alcaniz, Spain. MVRDV’s proposal is a group of buildings – blocks breaking from
the ground in a sandy desert, creating an ensemble of squares. The combination
of the racing activities and the dry, arid landscape gives the new Alcaniz race
track area a distinct character. Its development can be easily compared with Las
Vegas. But can we learn from Vegas again? More ecology? Less gambling? More
leisure based on the powers of the landscape?
Maybe instead of an artificial new icon, that specific contradiction, this specific
situation itself can lead to an outstandingly remarkable development and
approach. Each of the different programs have there own timing, size and
character. By positioning them close to each other, they can share their parking,
they can create a climatic pocket and they can share a collective plaza. And the
rest of the grounds can be used in the future… It gives a compact settlement
that enlarges the possibility for remark ability in the vast landscape.
By covering the undeniably huge roofs of the program with the found material
(red sand, stones, small plants, vegetation), the buildings can obtain a heavy
roof that can act as temperature buffer for the program. The buildings gain a
more ecological and natural character. They “blend” in with the landscape.