Velo, Amsterdam Sloterdijk

Velo Building C is a residential building with 72 social and middle segment homes on Teleport Boulevard in Amsterdam. It is part of a square block of four residential buildings that together form a green and sheltered inner space in the busy high-rise area transformation of Sloterdijk. The residential building also contains the entrance to a public bicycle shed for 4219 bicycles serving the adjacent Sloterdijk Station.

The Sloterdijk area is rapidly transforming from an office location to a mixed-use environment for living, studying, relaxing, and working. The site for the development is clamped between the railroad and the Teleport Boulevard, Amsterdam's main bicycle route to Sloterdijk station. The Master Plan design by diederendirrix architects, with 4 different residential blocks surrounding a common courtyard, guarantees a soundproofed courtyard in this noise and traffic-intensive location for 392 homes.

The precisely defined trappings of Building C on the long side of the square block provide balanced access to sunlight and exclusion of noise for the interior area, along with its mirrored counterparts in the other blocks. The steps are provided with roof gardens and façade vegetation, resulting in a connecting landscape to the roof. On Teleport Boulevard, a staggered volume minimizes wind disturbance on the surrounding streets and outdoor spaces of the dwellings below. The dwellings on floors two, three and four can therefore have generous balconies, as extensions of the living rooms on the South, overlooking the Teleport Boulevard.

The architecture of the four buildings was designed in conjunction with the architectural firm diederendirrix. Use of unusual brick patterns in all the buildings give the project an inner-city Amsterdam feel. Building C, with its pink brick, has a warm and optimistic look to the Teleport Boulevard, which the grey area could well use. The outward projecting brick heads on the first four layers provide depth, shading and sophistication.

The first floor facades provide the right connection to the surrounding streets for each function. The double-height rentable space is inviting and transparent, bringing daylight deep inside. The ground-level homes have deep recesses with a bench at the front door to give residents privacy. With its large canopy, the public bicycle parking has a clear marker to the surrounding area and a distinct address to the main network for cyclists in this part of town.