Urban Ivy
Amsterdam, NL
Location: Klimopweg 2, Amsterdam, NL
Design: 2020
Completion: 2024
Site Footprint: 2.377 m2
FSI Netto: 5.5
Gross Floor Area: 15.500 m2 (incl. underground parking)
Total Number of Apartments: 157
ranging in sizes from 30 m2, 50 m2 and 70-90 m2
Program: Residential, Commercial, Short stay hotel
Client: BLVG Ontwikkeling / GARBE Institutional Capital
Sustainability: Cauberg Huygen
Structural Engineer: Van Rossum
Installations: Huygen
Building Contractor: Kondor Wessels Amsterdam
Landscape: Hollandsgroen & Van der Tol
Renderings: VividVision
The goal of the Klaprozenbuurt project is to transform an extensively used business park into a vibrant mixed urban neighbourhood with space for living, working, and community facilities. Klaprozenweg will evolve from a purely functional arterial road into an attractive city street with shops and business premises in the plinth, creating a more pleasant and liveable residential climate. Plot A1, home to Urban Ivy, consists of a series of varied buildings designed to create a human scale within a high-density urban setting and allow for future adaptability and disassembly. Each building has its own width, entrance, and vertical circulation, directly connected to the collective green courtyard that forms the social heart of the block.
The design embodies the new Amsterdam living experience—where connection, diversity, sustainability, inclusivity, health, and affordability are leading principles. The block is conceived as an urban ensemble of differentiated building heights that respond sensitively to the surrounding context.
Row houses (small), gallery and corridor dwellings (medium), and a residential tower (large) are woven together into one coherent composition, balancing density and liveability. Setbacks and roof terraces create outdoor spaces, provide wind protection, and maximise daylight access to the public realm. The roofs are multifunctional: they host gardens, collect rainwater, and generate energy. At the street level, active frontages and shared spaces encourage social interaction and a vibrant community life.
The green concept strengthens the project’s ecological and social resilience by improving the microclimate, reducing heat stress, and supporting biodiversity. Greenery connects the ground level, inner courtyard, and rooftop into one continuous landscape that brings nature into daily urban life. Through its integrated design, Urban Ivy aims to become a prototype for sustainable urban living in Amsterdam’s northern transformation areas — compact, adaptable, and community-driven.
