IJDock

I was commissioned by dutch publication "De Architect" to produce a series of photographs of this multi-use complex and island on the river IJ in Amsterdam. Featuring the Palace of Justice (Palais van Justitie), a hotel, commercial offices, residential apartments, underground parking and a street running through the middle of it all.

The IJDock is located within the Amsterdam inner city no more than 500 m from the Central Station. Reclaiming land in the IJ has created a top location for new development: a car park, the Law Courts, the Public Prosecution Service offices, a hotel and a building with dwellings and offices for among other things the National Police Agency’s water police.

This project – which is entirely below the Amsterdam Ordnance Datum (N.A.P.) and granted to the general building contractor Züblin Nederland BV – consists of two car park levels and a service level. The car park/substructure offers room for approximately 500 parking spaces. There are also a number of service facilities in the substructure to support the superstructure. The car park walls are made of clean concrete walls. The expression ‘clean concrete’ tells us everything: this is a type of concrete of high aesthetic quality. Not only the colour and surface texture, but also the sharp definition of the details and contours make this an ideal construction material for visible structures. The concrete mix, the shuttering methods, the processing and treatment will determined the quality of the final result.