This contemporary penthouse in Amsterdam holds a central geometric amphitheater & a steel bookshelf-staircase

Designed by international architectural studio zU- studio, this beautiful penthouse located in one of Amsterdam’s most popular streets, Vondelstraat, is called the Nº1 private residence. The contemporary-style penthouse delicately respects the unique spatial perception of the site and provides a range of sequences and visual relations. The interior was arranged and designed in such a manner as to complement the spatial perception of the home to the max.

Designer: zU-studio 

Warm yet bold materials were used to construct several of the custom fittings in the home, such as the central amphitheater was constructed using wood, while the bookshelf-staircase and the bench-inspired seating were made using steel. These structural elements were added to the space, to define it more precisely, and serve individual as well as collective functions. The central amphitheater is the focal point of the penthouse, and it is shadowed by a large skylight on the top. The skylight allows for light to generously stream into the home, while also connecting the various levels and zones of the home, and maintaining visual consistency and continuity.

An interesting fact about the home is, that all the furniture is specially custom-made and fitted. This allows all the furniture to be accurately fitted into the space, not only organizing it but giving it a streamlined appearance. The amphitheater spans across the two floors of the home, in the form of a wooden staircase, while two steel platforms twist around it, continuing to form the bookcase that is placed at the top of the steps. The conjunction of the amphitheater and the skylight forms an open visual passage, that runs through the entire interior, giving it a distinguished volume.

Since the staircase artfully joins the two levels, this creates a transitional space that can be used as a screening projection stand, a workspace, or a reading section. The upper level includes all the common areas. A modular sofa, fireplace, wooden bench, and a panoramic window mark the entirety of the upper level. The lower floor houses three rooms, as well as a master bedroom, and a bathroom defined with marble and wood. The ceiling is a subtle off-white and it holds three solid wood beams that structurally support the roof.

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These two new large underground parking facilities in Amsterdam are designed to accomodate 11,000 bikes

The beautiful city of Amsterdam is known for its love of cycling, and almost everyone commutes almost all the time by bike. As fun and eco-friendly as cycling can be, parking your bicycles is a whole other issue, especially in a city as dynamic as Amsterdam. The city is known for being crowded with parked bikes, and the parking space never seems to be enough. In such an environment, the city of Amsterdam recently unveiled two massive bike parking spaces which are – underground!

Designer: Amsterdam City

Called ‘Stationsplein’ and ‘IJboulevard’, the two new stations are located next to Central Station, and can hold up to 11,000 bikes. This allows a lot of the space on the streets to be freed up. Stationsplein has been built under the Open Havenfront. It is a water body between the Prins Hendrikkade and the Stationseiland. The Stationsplein is currently the largest biking shed in Amsterdam, and it was opened to the public on January 28th, 2023. The garage can accommodate up to 7000 bikes and is well-connected to the Metro Hall, and the Amsterdam Central Station. On the other hand, the IJboulevard parking facility is located behind the Central Station, and it will open in February 2023.

These underwater bike sheds are truly a boon to the city of Amsterdam, as they are already providing plenty of ample parking space for the citizens. It allows pedestrians to park their bikes around the city’s main train station. It’s only been a couple of days since the first bike shed opened, but already the bike racks on the street look less cluttered, and the steady chunk of parked bicycles seems to have reduced. The area around the train station seems to be tidier and much more organized.

Larger pedestrian and bicycle paths have been built along with the two underground parking facilities. Streetcar stops and tracks have been replaced, and new underground cables and pipes have been added as well. “The opening of the new parking facilities marks the beginning of a new era, in which Amsterdam Central Station will be somewhat like it was around 1900. Accessible and pleasant, without cars and bicycles parked everywhere and nowhere. We are in good shape with the opening of the 2 new bicycle parking facilities, but we expect that there will be a greater need for bicycle parking spaces around the station. That is why we have already started preparations for even more parking spaces for bicycles,” said the Amsterdam representatives on the City’s official website.

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World’s first 3D-printed stainless steel bridge links Amsterdam’s past and future in its red-light district!

Amsterdam is known for its calm canals and winding alleyways, its rich cultural history, and its affinity for all kinds of pleasure. Historical landmarks still charm tourists and residents alike between the city’s canals, while contemporary and sustainable architecture put the burgeoning Amsterdam-Noord borough back on the map. Linking Amsterdam’s past with its future, designers and engineers at MX3D and Joris Laarman Lab developed the world’s first 3D printed bridge over one of Amsterdam’s oldest canals in De Wallen, the city’s red-light district.

MX3D and Joris Laarman Lab collaborated with global engineering firm Arup along with a host of designers and 3D-print teams to develop the robot-welded bridge. Welding traditional steelwork with computational design, the stainless steel bridge symbolizes a linking of Amsterdam’s past with its future. Stretching just over twelve meters in length, MX3D equipped simple, technical robots with purpose-built tools that were controlled by integrated software that the team of designers developed over the span of two years.

Arup, the project’s lead structural engineer, practiced ​​advanced parametric design modeling to streamline the bridge’s preliminary design process. Describing the developmental stages and inspiration behind building the bridge, MX3D notes, “The unique approach allows us to 3D print strong, complex and graceful structures out of metal. The goal of the MX3D Bridge project is to showcase the potential applications of our multi-axis 3D printing technology.”

Currently open to the public, the bridge was unveiled by Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands. Ushering in a strengthened bond between the possibilities of modern technology and a reverence for the city’s architectural integrity, the new bridge in Amsterdam’s red-light district stands as a link between the past and the future.

Designers: MX3D, Joris Laarman Lab, & Arup

Using advanced parametric design modeling to streamline the bridge’s initial design process, engineers programmed software to control the 3D printer’s construction and direction.

Amsterdam’s 3D printed bridge merges classical architecture with modern technology.

Constructed offsite, the bridge was transported on a boat to its final destination.

Weaving through Amsterdam’s canals, the bridge was ultimately brought to its final destination in the red-light district.

Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands unveiled the project’s debut in ode to Amsterdam’s rich cultural history.

This angular timber home in Amsterdam’s sustainable floating village uses the jetty’s power grid for clean energy!

Amsterdam is no stranger to floating homes, or even floating villages for that matter. There’s a new kid on the block though and he seems to be making waves. Taking over a previously industrial part of the city, Space&Matter recently planned a new floating village in Amsterdam that aims to become Europe’s most sustainable floating community. The new urban ecosystem, called Schoonschip is currently home to 46 households, which float atop a previously disused canal. Each household has a lot of creative control when designing their very own floating home, appearing like an urban architectural quilt floating on top of the water. The designers at i29 Architects recently revealed their own client’s rendition of the floating home, which has by now both drifted and settled into its new neighborhood.

The team at i29 Architects wanted to maximize their client’s living space indoors, so a clever combination of pitched roofing and dramatic diagonal coping gives the floating home high ceilings, a striking exterior display, and protects the roof from heavy rainfall. From the start, architecture and design went hand in hand for the team at i29 – one influencing and catering to the other, and vice versa. Further on this, i29 says, “Architecture and interior design are always intertwined and connected on each level to make a clear and unified experience. The floating home exterior design is the result of a space extensional study within the interior and vice versa.”

Inside, the floating home’s three floors are connected by an atrium, which extends through all three levels. Just above water-level, a split connection in the atrium’s middle levels leads to a loggia terrace for unobstructed views of the canal. Moving throughout the floating home, windows and glass walls cater to the views outside, which hop from window to window and floor to floor. While the basement offers direct water-level views, the living room’s sliding glass doors unfurl, bringing the home’s lounge and kitchen to the water’s edge. Then, moving to the top floor of the home, an additional loggia terrace opens up to views of the canal’s west side.

The floating neighborhood, which over 100 residents call home, is connected by a single jetty that works as a social gathering place above ground, while an underground jetty distributes green energy, connecting each household on an energy sharing grid. Water lines trace each jetty for each household to use and re-use all the water available to them. Even on a tight budget, i29 Architects pulled off both an energy-efficient home and one that’s not only aesthetically but purposefully eccentric. After all, this is a floating neighborhood.

Designer: i29 Architects x Space&Matter

This sustainable architecture concept is a flexible, scalable, living organism in itself!

Mitosis is the division of a cell into two identical ‘daughter cells’ and the purpose of this process is to grow as well as replace worn-out cells. Now that we have brushed on the biology bit, let’s move on to the sustainable architectural structure Mitosis which is also inspired by the process mentioned earlier as you might have guessed by its name! Amsterdam-based architecture firm GG-loop collaborated with Arup to design a modular building system that focuses on regenerative sustainable living and urban development.

Created with biophilic principles and parametric design tools, the hypnotizing prefab timber modules we see will be optimized to be flexible and scalable. This will let the building continue expansion with time in several different urban settings while accommodating the changing times which often results in changing needs. The ability to expand the structural hub is where the building gets its name from. Mitosis can be used for a wide range right from creating communities with off-grid, single-family homes to high-density, mixed-use zones in cities. GG-loop’s pilot project Freebooter was the foundation for Mitosis and is in itself an award-winning pair of prefabricated, cross-laminated timber apartments that were completed last year in Amsterdam.

Just like flexible organism evolves to adapt to different settings, Mitosis will also be able to do that with its individual, rhomboid-shaped modules that are stacked together to create shared outdoor spaces and private terraces. The outdoor areas would be filled with enough plants to make a lush green cover which will allow the residents to reconnect with nature while offsetting the urban heat island effect – pretty ‘cool’, eh? These plants will also elevate the air quality levels, especially in cities while encouraging sustainable living practices of urban farming and community gardens. The terraced build provides ample natural light to both plants and apartments. The greenery will also help the existing wildlife of the area to continue having their space and coexist with the residents.

“Mitosis adopts the 14 principles of biophilic design and articulates the relationships between nature, human biology, and the design of the built environment. Its construction is organic and flexible, providing large areas of urban and vertical farming, greenhouses, wildlife corridors, and integration of habitat creation, that encourage shared outdoor activities among residents,” said the team in their project statement. The unique concept aims to give its residents an outdoor space along with the amenities needed to participate in environmentally friendly communal activities. Mitosis gives social interaction and community building as much importance as it does to create a sustainable living environment. This promotes the overall health and well-being of the residents and it is something only a few architectural projects look at once they are done adding a garden or a gym – the physical space is tied with our emotional space, and GG-loop creates an environment that promotes the growth of both sustainably.

Designer: GG-loop

These floating homes in Amsterdam are designed to beat the rising sea levels and escape the growing city population

Fifteen minutes from Amsterdam, Waterbuurt translated to ‘Water District,’ is a neighborhood that floats, freezes, and tilts on the waters of Lake Eimer. Designed by Dutch architect Marlies Rohmer, Waterbuurt sets the stage as a water-based solution for Holland’s modern housing needs. The Netherlands actually means, ‘the low-lying country,’ indicating the country’s close proximity to water. In fact, much of the country’s land is either below sea level or just slightly above it. In order to go with the flow of the approaching tide and avoid the surging population in urban centers, Waterbuurt adapts to the rising sea levels and finds calm away from the congestion of the city.

Upon completion, 18,000 homes will comprise Waterbuurt, but for now, more than 100 of them float on jetties. The houses, which are permanently fastened to steel pylon-enforced moorings, resemble attractive shipping containers and share more in appearances with land-based housing than the familiar houseboats dotted along Amsterdam’s canals. With similar architecture to that of land-homes, each Waterbuurt floating house has to be connected to the floor of Lake Eimer, which distinguishes Waterbuurt’s homes from Amsterdam’s docked houseboats. Two mooring posts also anchor each home for optimum stability and the material used to construct the homes is chosen with careful consideration for the environment and health of Lake Eimer, so the building material does not leak pollutants into the water. Constructed from wood, the homes rest above a concrete caisson, a large watertight chamber, in order to attain a low center of gravity, further enhancing the home’s stability. The caisson is also habitable, so basement parties are sure to be a hit.

From afar, the homes look like a dizzying display of funhouse mirrors, but upon closer inspection, the homes’ true building materials are revealed: wood, plastic, and glass. Everything about the architecture of the homes centers around the water world, but all the residents have individual access to concrete jetties, bringing them to land. Running below the jetties, cables and pipes generate gas, electricity, water, cable, and provide a sewage drainage system for each floating home. Built at a shipyard, about 40 miles north, the floating houses of Waterbuurt are distinct with light wooden panels that soften, and line the several glass windows, which reflect Lake Eimer’s metallic surface. In designing the homes for residential use, there is a lot of flexibility during the construction stages. Future residents hold the creative power when it comes to deciding on which side they prefer a view or more privacy, which location on the roof they envision their terrace or garden, and even the position of their windows.

The floating homes of Waterbuurt are said to act more like land-based homes and, despite being constructed specifically to stand above water, are designed with the convenience of living on the land in mind. With that, most residents of Waterbuurt really aren’t looking for that magical ‘Aquaworld’ experience when they sign up for a floating Waterbuurt home. Since most of the residents seem to have chosen to live on the water in order to be closer to nature and retreat from the bursting city population, Waterbuurt consists of a network of homes that seem to work together with a collective ideal in mind: to move with the tide of the natural world. In fact, Waterbuurt is such a tight-knit community of water dwellers that when one resident is short on electrical power, another neighbor can offer some of theirs if they’ve got any leftover current.

Designers: Marlies Rohmer