APARTMENT BUILDING ‘IJ-TOWER’

The twenty-storey tower block is part of the shopping centre complex bordering the IJ harbour. In the master plan for the area it is the focal point of the new residential district created out of the former docks area tucked into the bend of the training wall leading to Java and KNSM islands.

The tower contains 68 apartments with a basic configuration of four apartments per floor around a central core. Indentations at several places have a dual effect.

On the one hand they lend the building a strong sculpturality that contributes to its monumentality. On the other hand they ensure that no two floors of the tower are the same and generate rich variety of dwelling types (twenty in all) ranging from bijou studios to large duplex-apartments with spacious roof terraces.

The sculpture of the tower continues in a podium that links up with the shopping centre to form a single presence on the new urban square. The ground floor is occupied by a supermarket, the first floor by a car park for residents and the second floor by a multi-functional space with roof terrace. The basement level forms part of the shopping centre car park.

The tower is clad in natural-coloured cement fibre sheeting with a vertical accent of aluminium sealing strips. The windows are arranged in a continuous stretcher bond pattern around the building. This neutral skin enhances the sculpturality of the whole. The recessed indentations are clad with red-brown timber boards, the plinth is in dark grey concrete stone.

The shopping centre extends along the Oostelijke Handelskade, from Lloydsplein to the levee in the direction of KNSM Island, and is intended to form the heart of a new housing estate in this former docks area.

Two-thirds of the shopping centre is situated under the renovated roof of the former Brazil shed, a dock warehouse with an interesting steel roof construction dating from the beginning of the century. The other part is formed by the base of the tower block which is part of the plan. Between these two sections is a shopping plaza with space for outdoor activities and a view of the harbour.

On the west side is a second plaza bordered by the cross end of the roof, the old Lloyds hotel and a new pavilion. This plaza is designed as an entertainment venue with cafÈs and restaurants. The riverside walk will be lined with landing stages and amusement boats and there will be a panorama restaurant pavilion in the water.

The shopping centre is two-sided, with shops along both elevations with a covered walkway under the projecting roof. The long roof is divided into three blocks of shops with two public passageways laid out respectively as a mall and a produce market. These passageways also provide access to the basement car park that stretches the full length of the project.

The characteristic series of roof lights and the elegant riveted truss construction give the centre a distinctive appearance. The set back shopfronts are executed in dark red brick with timber frames, the roof is lined with a ceiling of profiled metal sheeting.