In 25 years the new city of Almere has grown from no inhabitants to over 160.000 inhabitants. By 2010 the population is expected to grow to 250.000. This projected growth has required the creation of a new city centre. OMA’s masterplan will provide 1000 new housing units and 2000 parking spaces, together with a number of essential facilities (shops, museum, library and theatre). The new program is spread over 12 new buildings, known as “blocks”, each with their own architectural expression and character.
Block 7+9, known as ‘The Angle’ is a 150 meter long, 4 storey building located in the north-west edge of the plan. The unique site demands an architectural and urban response that defines the north-west corner of the OMA plan, at the same time mediating between opposing urban conditions: old versus new city fabric, the fast west side with its major connecting route for cars versus the slow east side pedestrian based urban spaces, and the lower parking level versus the raised shopping deck. Other functional requirements contribute further to the complexity of the design – the demand for shop fronts orientated to the shopping deck, private balconies orientated to the sun; a protective acoustic sound barrier orientated to the ring road; an open gallery orientated to Almere’s main city square; the dominant use of commercial signage and advertising.
In response Block 7+9 resolves the demanding urban complexity of the urban plan through an elegant architectural solution in the form of subtle nuancing in the program and elevation arcticulation. Like a swiss army knife the building in contrast to it’s neighbours stikes a balance between the necessity to articulate different functional requirements of the location whilst retaining a strong singular identity. Composed of only glass and aluminium panels, striking properties like reflection, transparency, openness, screens and sharp edges create an new form of urban materiality anchoring the building perfectly in it’s location.