Mahler 4 Zuidas

Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Client: G&S Bouw

Date: 2009 Completion

Total Area: 11,000m²

Budget: €15 million

This project delivered an 11,000 m² block for mixed residential and commercial use on a new urban development site in South Amsterdam planned by Pi de Bruin, located between Schiphol Airport and the RAI Trade Zone, and between the Berlage and the Van Eesteren extensions of the city. Following our neighbours’ example, our proposal approaches the project as a piece of “fabric” rather than an independent object.

The programs are vertically layered. In every functional layer, the floor area/perimeter ratio of the building mass adjusts the relationship between interior and exterior to a different use. Natural ventilation and daylight are regulated according to these parameters and determine the level of artificial climatization and the scale of the floor decks. Commercial use, located on the ground level will require large floor areas and substantial environmental conditioning for light, temperature and ventilation terms. Offices will require medium conditioning, and we designed the floorplates to have natural ventilation and daylighting. The residential floors enjoy a much higher level of natural day-light and ventilation, and smaller scale of floor space.

The applied façade ratios were:

Commercial floor. Ground-level location: 12.23m²/m

Office floors. Levels 1-4: 7.73m²/m

Penthouse floor. Upper-level location: 6.55m²/m

The envelope of the building is developed further within the local regulation of a maximum of 50% fenestration. Inspired by the traditional Dutch window, the exterior membrane is split into two glazed surfaces, a lower one that permits a view of the outside, and an upper one that maximizes the entrance of daylight in the workspace. The floor height was maximized by exposing all the lighting and air conditioning systems in the ceiling.