Location: Weespertrekvaart, Amsterdam, NL
Year: 2023 - ongoing
Site Footprint: 1.635 m2
FSI Netto: 2.1
Gross Floor Area: 3.432m2
Parking: -
Outdoor Play Area: 300 m2
Client: STAIJ Amsterdam
Building physics: Adviesbureau Sijperda-Hardy
Structural Engineer: Berkhout Tros Bouwadviseurs
Installations: Adviesbureau Sijperda-Hardy
Cost Analysis: Bouwkostenadvies T.M. Laan
Landscape design: Moss

Weespertrekvaart area in Amsterdam is an urban transformation plan with on plot 1 a multifunctional development. IKC Weespertrekvaart (Integrated Child Center) occupies the head of the plot 1A as an “all-in-one school” school concept, where as plot 1B will have a mixed program of social and commercial functions with two residential blocks above. An Integrated Child Center (IKC) is a centre in which facilities such as primary school, daycare center, after-school care, playgroup and a public sports hall are combined. The outdoor space directly adjacent to the all-in-one school is limited therefore the public square in front and the roof are used as green and play areas. 

Our design for the IKC (primary school, daycare and sports hall) reinvents the school building as a community facility for not just people but nature in all its forms to do its thing. Healthy urban learning. We wanted to create sense of place, through a clear identity inspired by the industrial past of the Weespertrekvaart both in terms of an industrial construction method and lightweight architectural expression.

We also believe in a nature inclusive building that facilitates the absorption of water, promotes bio-diversity, educational urban agriculture, heat absorption, natural cooling, physical activity, local flora and fauna. Through an industrial building approach of a flexible grid and demountable metal facade technology and wooden interiors, the building design is also able to be transformed into many other potential functions in the future.

All users enter through the same main entrance through a logical stacking of educational functions to strengthen the sense of community. By using clear sightlines and a spacious entrance for meeting, this offers space for different types of activities where a playful grandstand staircase functions as the heart of the IKC. The roof of the plinth is at least 60% unpaved with sufficient soil locally for high-quality greenery. All roofs are provided with water retention as prescribed. Nesting boxes will be integrated into the façade in the inner garden and the façade cladding provides for vegetation on these facades.