Bajeskwartier
Client | Bajes Kwartier Ontwikkeling and Alliantie |
Completion time | 2018 - 2028 |
Market | Commercial real estate |
Team | |
In collaboration with | BAM Advies & Engineering, OMA, FABRICations, LOLA Landscape, Arons en Gelauff Architects, Civic architects, MH1, Atelier Kempe Thill, Barcode, Moke Architects, BDG Architects, Studio Seven |
Location | Amsterdam |
Project scope | 135,000 m2 |
Expertises | |
Bajeskwartier is divided into four clusters in its design: the Learning District, Design District, Central District, and Amstel District. The overarching urban plan was created by the architectural firms OMA, FABRICations, and LOLA Landscape. The designs of the architects for the specific buildings fit within this overarching DNA. Bajeskwartier is a development by Bajes Kwartier Ontwikkeling C.V., a collaboration between AM, Schoders Capital, and AT Capital. ABT is working with BAM Advies & Engineering on the residential towers in the Design, Central, and Amstel districts, including a two-story parking garage.
Bajeskwartier as a place for everyone
The emerging neighborhood covers an area of 11 football fields (7.3 hectares), 555 by 100 meters. There will be sixteen buildings with approximately 1350 homes, designed by eleven different leading architects. The neighborhood will be 100% energy-neutral, and 98% of the material from the former prison will be reused in the new district, with two buildings partially preserved and redeveloped. In addition to (social) rental and owner-occupied homes, there will be commercial spaces, sports and catering facilities, 68 gardens, and space for the creative industry, culture, and education. The short-stay hotel, a secondary school, the first social rental homes, and the Bajesdorp building have already been completed and are partially in use.
Constructions
Ronald Wenting, project manager at ABT: “To transform the former prison into a green, vibrant urban district, an ambitious and comprehensive master plan has been developed. This plan is future-oriented but also honors the past and the history of the place. The structural challenges are different in each building block due to the architectural design and the varying program. We fully respond to this with the structural design. In the plan development, the architects want to create a lively plinth with space for interaction. We achieve this with an open structure of columns and cantilevers over the central square areas. From the first floor, this structure transitions into a wall structure as is common in residential buildings. This transition between structural forms is a beautiful challenge. In three buildings, The Ruby, The Robin, and The Emerald, there is also a parking garage under the buildings. Here, you need to respond well to the column structure.”
Wooden buildings
The Cardinal and The Stern in the Design District will be partly made of wood according to the master plan. The Cardinal contains a steel table structure on legs with a wooden structure on top. Below this runs a bicycle and pedestrian street that goes through the entire district. This used to be the route for prisoners and was called ‘De Kalverstraat’ by the inmates.”
Diagonally opposite The Cardinal you will find The Stern. This building is largely constructed above the original soup kitchen and boiler house. Currently, there is a brewpub and information center of Bajeskwartier located here, with apartments above it.
Ronald: “Since this side of Bajeskwartier is next to the railway, we have to take vibrations into account in terms of engineering. Especially with wood, this requires vibration-conscious design.”
Cantilevers in Bajeskwartier
In several buildings, there are challenging cantilevers: a part of the facade juts out and hangs in the air. This is the case with the four buildings in the Central District: The Ruby, The Finch, The Starling, and The Robin. This creates a square between the buildings under these cantilevers. A structural challenge.
Kars Haarhuis, project manager for structures at The Ruby (see image) and The Jay: “The Ruby cantilevers in two directions for a total of more than 8 meters. They are located at a height of 24 meters. To achieve this, we have applied concrete wall beams and a substantial steel truss at that height. This truss spans two floors and has a length of 16.6 meters.”
The tower that was never built
At The Jay, there is also an overhang. Kars: “We achieved this with a prefab crossbeam of 1.2 by 1.5 meters and a weight of 24 tons, which in turn rests on a portal with a free span of 5.5 meters. This results in a clear construction principle with an impressive play of forces.”
This tower consists of a prefab concrete structure. Convenient, as it speeds up the construction time. Moreover, the work is done without scaffolding: the facade is installed simultaneously with the prefab load-bearing structure.
What is also special about The Jay is that it is the seventh tower from the original plan of the Bijlmerbajes from the 1970s. However, this tower was never built at that time. The new residential tower stands in the same place as in the design and also matches the original plan in terms of volume.
The Green Tower
The so-called Green Tower is the only one of the six towers of the former Bijlmerbajes that still remains. The building was once the women’s section of the infamous prison complex. In the future, it will house creative offices, educational functions, and hospitality, as well as the ESCO: the energy center for the entire Bajeskwartier will be located here.