Above the entrances to the metro station ‘De Pijp’ of the North/South metro line in Amsterdam two buildings with residential and retail space are being constructed. The project is named Moving Up. The building on the corner of Albert Cuyp street will have 12 apartments and a penthouse. The building on the corner with the Ceintuurbaan gets six apartments, a penthouse and a retail space. Both penthouses on the fourth floor feature a private roof terrace with spectacular views over the neighbourhood De Pijp.
According to the urban planning requirements the subway entrance and the superstructure had to be designed as one building (an ensemble). On the one hand the existing urban characteristics had to be taken into account, on the other hand the metro building had to have an identifiable position in the urban fabric, for the purpose of signal value and transparency.
The original locations were part of the late 19th century building blocks of De Pijp. There is a homogeneity of these blocks, because all the facades are constructed according to the same principle. The ground floor is generally higher than the other layers, and now serves as a shopfront. This is followed by three storeys of brick, a continuous cornice topped by a recessed roof with centred dormer and hoisting beam. The facades have a distinctive rhythm of windows, balconies, alternating stone band and hoisting beams. This typical image is utilized in the design of the new buildings, where the ground floor is reserved for the metro entrances.
Based on the analysis of the initial situation, daylight and orientation, the size and position of the open and closed façade surfaces are determined. The rhythm of the windows, the corner location and the layout of the apartments have been important factors. To get enough daylight in the underground areas of the metro, as is characteristic for all the underground stations of the North/South line, the ground floor is designed to be as open as possible. By placing the residential buildings above the underground entrances, they are as it were 'lifted'. The total height of 4.8m allows for enough daylight and at the same time connects with the adjacent buildings.
The connection to the surrounding buildings, as explicitly required by the urban plan, has been further enhanced by the choice of materials and shape of the roof. The materialisation of the facades continues on the sloping façade of the upper floor and the roof shape follows the style of the surrounding buildings in volume and angle. As a result, the concept of an elevated volume is amplified.
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