KNSM Island Skydome

This housing project is located on KNSM Island, a former inter-city dock that fell into disuse during the 1970s, which has since been redeveloped into a residential area with abundant green space and numerous quays. Its design consists of four separate but closely grouped volumes, each with 21 stories. Every level is composed of five apartments, while five penthouses occupy the top floor. KNSM Island was formerly used by the Royal Netherlands Steamboat Company; it overlooks Amsterdam to its south and the waters of the IJ to its north. The tower is oriented according to this north-south axis, and a submerged car park shapes its plinth, which is recessed from the island's ground plane, so that it serves as an expansive private terrace for the tower's residents. The lobby is located along the tower's northern façade; it can be accessed from both the internal parking garage and exterior plinth. The lobby is banded by an elongated convex ribbon of fenestration, which is a direct inversion of the angle that constitutes the confluence of KNSM Island with that of the adjacent Java Island.

Location
KNSM Laan 451
9019 LG Amsterdam
the Netherlands

Typology
Housing

Size
21.400 m2

Date of design
1990

Date of completion
1996

Project team
Wiel Arets, Elmar Kleuters, Paul Kuitenbrouwer, René Thijssen

Collaborators
Anca Arenz, Ivo Daniëls, Jo Janssen, Maurice Paulussen, Henrik Vuust

Client
Wilma Bouw BV

Consultants
Cauberg & Huijgen Raadgevende Ingenieurs BV, Loveld, Wilma Bouw BV