Description

Entrepotdok,  A monument condemned to demolition!

The Entrepotdok,  start and great example of the urban renewal of Jan Schaefer.

Together with a strong neighborhood committee, a pugnacious alderman, a conscientious corporation and our architect office, we achieved the largest monument in Europe Housing. It is mid eighties.

History

Rapidly in Amsterdam, as in many other European cities, the old warehouses were converted into residential buildings for people who could effort to pay. It is wonderful to live in those old buildings, but in general you should  be quite wealthy. An exception is the large warehouse complex at the Entrepotdok in Amsterdam, with a length of 500 meters, located to the original Rapenburger canal and Kadijk-island. The Entrepotdok is realized with 100% social housing, and various commercial properties for small and starting companies. The project was started in a period that urban renewal in Amsterdam finally got underway, under the rule of the bold and pugnacious alderman Jan Schaefer. But it is mainly the merit of the most persistent and knowledgeable neighborhood committee Kadijken. At Kadijksplein, part of the urban area Eastern Islands , 84 historic warehouses are situated, together they form the Old Entrepotdok. Between 1708 and 1829, these warehouses built in phase. The warehouses were around 1972 although surviving, but damaged by fire and lack of maintenance. After plans, to rebuild the warehouse and plans for (premium) houses for sale of € 99.830 each, primarily through financial reasons had failed, the Amsterdam City Council’s took over suggestions of the Kadijk Committee within the context of social housing.

This committee launched, late 70s of last century, their own 1000 housing plan, against the promoted  Latin Quarter plan at Kadijk Island by Alderman Lammers. The majority of these 1000 houses have been realized on the Kadijken and the Eastern Islands, and an important part of the 420 houses are on the Entrepotdok. Total construction costs € 40.000 per house; the same or less as the average new house in urban areas. For our office,  the Entrepotdok was the first major  task involving reuse of historic buildings. Awarded with the Europa Nostra prize, and the first National Renovation Award.

The 1e  and 2e phase, a phased approach

To realize the entire plan in phases had  major consequences for the second phase. First idea was to maintain only the facade ± 10 meters of the worse constructive but differentiated part, but cost and performance of the first part made fully maintain of the facades credible. The 1e phase: 169 social housing units, four group homes, several studio apartments, 10,000 m2 of office space and 130 (covered) parking spaces. The 2e phase: 214 homes, several shared spaces for about 20 people in three groups, and about 4800 m2 business units. This part contains nine construction phases with different floor heights and each part its own access structure.

Construction plan

The construction plan has used  the existing volume as much as possible, in which the given information and characteristics were respected, used and reinforced. The lower layers are business units with private entrances, storage rooms of the houses and parking. These spaces run 42 meters deep. Above , parts were scrapped. The opening of these spaces is on one hand from the quay (individually) on the other hand from six main entrance stairs, which connect the central aisle. On the second level, 5.50 m above ground level, there is a second street level. The connection is established through six public staircases (three with an elevator). From these four squares (size 12×18 and 15×50 m), three to four houses can be reached by 23 secondary staircases.

From the stairwells  three dwellings per floor are opened/accessible.  Unique in this situation was that the

profoundness of the house was not affected by the cost: it was not a question of more construction, but less demolition.

In total there are 18 different types (apart from the kitchen variants). Facades and construction; of the existing warehouse facades the sturdy structure and strong vertical articulation is kept, by replacing the old hoisting shutters through steel frames over the complete floor height. Each layer was separated by heavy façade lintels of 500mm x 360mm (wall thickness). The courtyard facades consist of the existing building walls, in which holes are made; they got a white insulating patch on the outside, and distinguish itself from the new brick facades which are made of bright red bricks. Masonry facades on the one hand, to compensate for the weight in the middle zone that was taken out, on the other hand, not to create a rupture and strange effect compared to the outer facades, but to answer with a contemporary means to the monumental exterior.

The heavy wooden beams in the houses are visible remained; the floors are realized in floating floor packages. All apartments have a balcony, or a garden on the courtyard side. Also the front doors are at these courts. The way the courtyards are built has till today led till  too  many social cohesion and compassion, gardens and courtyards are jointly maintained. The complete work was achieved with only 1% more work costs, and  almost without any monument subsidy. The Entrepotdok is highly regarded nationally and internationally and has in Amsterdam certainly led to a sense of consciousness of the possibilities of a functionalist complex and the positive impact this project has on the total surroundings. The Historical Heritage in the big cities, is  proved of incredible value.

 

On the map