ARCHELLO YOUR CONNECTION WITH ARCHITECTURE

One single architectural intervention results in an organically developed image in the centre of Amsterdam, but built with modern construction methods and materials.

Geusebroek Stefanova Architectenbureau give the impression of successfully realising nine separate, contemporarily materialised buildings through only one design intervention, within the context of the 16th and 17th century city centre of Amsterdam. The maisonettes on the ground floor and stories above are accessible from street level. The remaining 32 small apartments vary in size from 42 to 80 square meters and are assessable in pairs by portico’s.

Similar floor-plans are carefully connected to different facades. Cornices in differing height, bricks that differ in colour, plinths of different height and changing compositions in the façade openings are the literal means with which a copy of an organically grown image is momentarily revived.

Even the artificially slanting masonry of the façade, reminiscent of a building’s subsidence over time, is used to differentiate the images of the residences. With unyielding attention, an attempt is made to comprehend the essence of an authentic cityscape. Thereafter, the analysis was translated into a potential application with modern materials. The project is convincing in its careful interpretation of a historic cityscape that had to be built with contemporary construction methods.