HOME Amsterdam

Naritaweg, Amsterdam, Netherlands | 2021

HOME is a design concept for affordable, modular urban housing in the Netherlands. Six sites across six cities have been earmarked for development and in each case the design of the apartments focus on a central landscaped courtyard and an elevated public realm. Gustafson Porter + Bowman have developed an innovative modular landscape system that can be adapted to work across all sites, creating urban villages with varied landscaping options, from open green space to shared active spaces, a full range of environments where residents and neighbours can socialise or relax in quiet contemplation.

The first site to be developed is in Naratiweg, Amsterdam. The site is constrained by a busy railway to the north, where existing buildings remain to be refurbished. This hard edge makes it all the more important that a soft side is created and nature is brought into the heart of the development through a large internal courtyard, gently filtering out to the south.

The landscape prioritises the use of diverse plants to create a rich landscape connected by shared paths beneath mature, moisture-loving native trees. To the east and west large planted swales are proposed to defend the courtyard from flooding and flowering trees mark the entrance to the site to the south. Within the courtyard, small to medium spring-flowering trees create an intimate ambience and a secret garden offers quiet respite, while flowering hedges frame movement routes. A band of mixed shade shrubs provides privacy to ground-floor flats.

The materials used reflect the scale of routes across the site, with generous concrete planks for the east-west public realm connection, to more intimate brick paving that moves into the courtyard, and the bonded gravel paving that defines the garden spaces. The palette is warm, with neutral tones reinforcing the concept.