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In Amsterdam, a new residential development draws on canyons, forests, and beaches

2023-05-09T14:39:00-04:00

A team comprising Orange Architects, Felixx, Ballast Nedam West, and ABT has completed a mixed-use residential scheme in Amsterdam inspired by various natural forms. Titled Jonas and situated on the artificial island of Ijburg, the building is centered around a “concentration of special places” inspired by rocks, islands, forests, beaches, and canyons.

Image credit: Sebastian van Damme

At the front of the building, a landscape titled ‘The Rock’ is anchored by a large wooden sculpture that integrates a parking garage entrance. A multifunctional grandstand is created by sculptural terraces and wooden decks, while on summer days, the building’s interior and exterior merge by way of a large operable glass frontage.

Image credit: Sebastian van Damme

The patio of the building has been dubbed ‘The Forest,’ manifesting as a quiet, intimate space populated by large birch trees, ferns, moss, slate paths, and wooden benches. The s...

Team jvantspijker / Felixx wins competition for the redevelopment of Vogabyggð, Reykjavik.

2014-01-30T15:23:00-05:00

Two Rotterdam based offices jvantspijker and Felixx will design the new redevelopment plan of an industrial seaside area in Reykjavik, Iceland. The firms have won the first prize through an invited two-stage competition. The plan consists of 110.000 square meters of mixed use program, including four hundred new dwellings.

The location is tightly embedded within a port and transshipment area, a residential area and a large nature reserve. The competition is one of the first focus areas of a large long-term masterplan set up by the municipality of Reykjavik. The overarching plan commits to redevelopment, densification and sustainability.

The firms jvantspijker (planning and architecture) and Felixx (landscape architecture) used the ambition of densification to reconnect the urban area of Reykjavik to the surrounding Icelandic landscape. "In the current situation landscape and city are related as the inverse of each other", according to the Rotterdam design team.

"The renewed link between...