Residential Housing Development, Amsterdam

“A building is not something you finish, a building is something you start” – Stewart Brand

How to make a sustainable community?  Ideas of sustainability are central to this project. We have used a wider definition of sustainability than might immediately come to mind. Sustainability does not just mean consideration of embodied energy and energy consumed in everyday usage. Just as importantly, our proposal is intended to be long lasting. There are various design decisions we have made in order to make this achievable, but primarily this has involved carefully considering the way in which the architecture will be occupied. This to us is the essence of architecture. It encompasses simple practical decisions like being able to get to your car in the pouring rain without getting wet. Underlying this, we have carefully formulated a hierarchy of association relating to the community of Bakemabuurt, (Neighbourhood – Neighbours – Household) and related it directly to the spaces proposed. Every space is ascribed to a clearly defined group. The intention is that this consideration of the art of inhabitation will make our proposal a group of loved buildings. And if the community loves its buildings, only then can that community be truly sustainable.