119 / ELZENHAGEN PARKVILLA 1 / AMSTERDAM

Elzenhagen is an urban plan with villas in a park-like hilly landscape on a former sports field in Amsterdam Noord. A total of 14 buildings are being designed in tandem with Office Winhov, Bedaux de Brouwer and KorthTielens. ML_A is responsible for three of the fourteen blocks.

Villa 1, together with Villas 2, 4 and 5, is the first phase of this long-term project. The villa contains 45 rental apartments and the entrance to the district’s communal underground parking garage. The sculptural block consists of four wings, with a stack of cantilevered balconies around an atrium. The corners are incised and internally rounded to optimally fuse the building with the park landscape. The top floor has been replaced to enhance the sculptural appearance. The construction of the volume consists of bands of lightly washed gravel concrete and balconies, alternating with sand-coloured, extruded stone infill in head bond and silver-grey aluminium frames. There are large tilt windows in the gable ends. The different blocks are designed in close consultation between the different involved offices and are carefully coordinated in terms of materials and facade composition. This creates a homogeneous diversity within the plan area.