Twiske-West, Amsterdam

People move to Twiske West because they dream of having a garden on the waterfront. For this reason we decided to design living units on three levels with a garden. To avoid any of the buildings facing north, we developed a system whereby storeys of each building lie one seventh of a circle apart from each other. As a result every unit enjoys optimal sun and panoramic views. The round buildings are made up of seven units surrounding an open core. Each unit consists of three equally sized spaces, each of which can be divided into two. The number of rooms and the way they are divided is therefore flexible. The star-shaped ground floor is made up of prefab concrete slabs and big sliding patio doors which lead to the garden. The spiral shape of the units is reinforced by the use of wooden panels placed diagonally on the façade.


Architect: Van der Pol
Team: M. Lette, H. Hammink, C. Jonge Poerink
Number: 9102
Status: Built
Year: 1991 - 1993
Client: Woningbouwvereniging Amsterdam-Zuid