Hans Veuger
Zigzagging façade
Amsterdam - Ariana Nozemanstraat.
"Citadel": apartment building, 2022, architects: MVSA.
The location of the new apartment building, called Citadel, is in the ‘Blue Band village’ neighbourhood, directly opposite the famous complex of ‘sawtooth houses’ by prominent post-war architect Frans van Gool. Built in 1959, the blocks of single-family houses have an experimental floor plan that means their façades form a zigzag line, creating a sawtooth pattern. It was the blue mouldings on their roofs that gave the neighbourhood its Blue Band nickname, after the packaging of the Dutch margarine brand.
With the whole Blue Band village a protected monument since 2008, our design for the new build set out to respect its context, while adding a contemporary twist to the neighbourhood. Rather than attempting a high-rise building, which would have sat awkwardly here, we opted for a mid-rise development that would not dwarf the existing housing. We also responded to the sawtooth theme with a striking façade of zigzagging white balconies for our apartment building. These form a dynamic rippling wave as they progress over its face. (mvsa-architects.com).
Zigzagging façade
Amsterdam - Ariana Nozemanstraat.
"Citadel": apartment building, 2022, architects: MVSA.
The location of the new apartment building, called Citadel, is in the ‘Blue Band village’ neighbourhood, directly opposite the famous complex of ‘sawtooth houses’ by prominent post-war architect Frans van Gool. Built in 1959, the blocks of single-family houses have an experimental floor plan that means their façades form a zigzag line, creating a sawtooth pattern. It was the blue mouldings on their roofs that gave the neighbourhood its Blue Band nickname, after the packaging of the Dutch margarine brand.
With the whole Blue Band village a protected monument since 2008, our design for the new build set out to respect its context, while adding a contemporary twist to the neighbourhood. Rather than attempting a high-rise building, which would have sat awkwardly here, we opted for a mid-rise development that would not dwarf the existing housing. We also responded to the sawtooth theme with a striking façade of zigzagging white balconies for our apartment building. These form a dynamic rippling wave as they progress over its face. (mvsa-architects.com).