(Source: Arcam)
Miles Building, Bedaux de Brouwer, 2011
Living on the Zuidas
The Zuidas in Amsterdam is mainly known as a business district with many special high-rise buildings. Due to its ideal location in relation to Schiphol and the good connections with the rest of the city, the area also has an international character. The district is increasingly focusing on the arrival of new homes in order to create an urban area that is lively even after office hours. Gerswhin is the first sub-area of the Zuidas where the emphasis is on housing. Miles Building was completed on Gershwinplein in 2011: the first complete owner-occupied housing block on the Zuidas. The building houses 71 owner-occupied homes in four different types: apartments, town homes, water houses and penthouses. There is also variation in the floor plans within the types, resulting in 31 differently designed homes in the building.
Stacked city villas
Miles Building was designed by Bedaux de Brouwer Architects. In the design they aimed for a stacked residential building with the characteristics and qualities of villa homes. This has been achieved, among other things, by giving each home an outdoor space in the form of a large balcony or terrace. The appearance of Miles Building is characterized by the anthracite-colored stone, wooden details and aluminum-colored accents. These materials give the building a high-quality appearance. The building consists of three connected volumes that together form a square with an open courtyard. The building has two faces, so to speak: a busy side and a modest side. On the busy side of the square, commercial functions are located in the double-height plinth. With twelve floors, this side also has the highest volume of the three connected parts and thus fits in with the nearby environment. Luxury apartments and penthouses are located on the top floors. In contrast, the L-shaped part, which is largely located on the Boelengracht, has a very modest and light character. This building part consists of only two floors that rest on pillars as high as the plinth. This contains six maisonettes. The adjacent canal is connected to the courtyard by a pond. As a result, the L-shaped building part is partly above the water. The maisonettes are therefore also called 'water houses'. A lot of daylight reaches the homes through the glass facade over the two floors in combination with the south-facing location. Because the lowest building part faces southwest, the sun also optimally reaches the balconies at the rear of the other two parts. Like a kind of puzzle, the low L-shaped building part fits into the third building part of eight floors on George Gerswhinlaan. Despite the different characteristics, the three buildings form a beautifully connected ensemble due to the puzzle-like transitions and the same materials.
Moss on the roof
The different types of high-rise buildings on the Zuidas make it easier to look out onto the roof of a nearby building. That is why the roof, as the fifth facade, is often an important part of the design. Miles Buidling has a green moss-sedum roof for its aesthetic function. This roof covering also has environmental benefits and, for example, rainwater is drained more gradually. The building also uses a cold-heat storage facility.
Text: Anna Peschier