Is Solar Power the answer to Amsterdam's housing shortage?

More and more we’re seeing the need for sustainable and ‘green thinking’ architecture to answer the questions of future city needs. One of them being affordable, high-quality housing for young professionals.

Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo has won an international competition with the design for the Brink Tower, a new mixed-use skyscraper that will connect Amsterdam’s Van Der Pek neighbourhood with the Overhoeks.

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Designed as a solution to the shortage of high-quality housing for young professionals, international students and young couples in the city, the eye-catching tower will include approximately 400 new residences and offer a variety of shared green spaces to encourage a sense of community.

Sustainability has also driven the design of the sleek high-rise, which aims to achieve an EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) score of less than zero through the addition of solar panels and energy-efficient systems.

Slated to begin construction in 2022 with an expected completion date of 2025, the Brink Tower will occupy a prime location in the Overhoeks that is easily accessible from Amsterdam Central Station via the ferry service. The building will comprise 28 floors and rise to an approximate height of 90 meters.

To accommodate a diverse group of people, the architects have designed the home with a variety of housing types. The approximately 400 homes will include 120 social rental homes (among the social rental limit), 30 care homes and over 250 rental properties in the middle of the building. The residences and neighbourhood meeting spaces will be set above an attractive plinth that will house street-level retail facilities and restaurant spaces.

One of the most eye-catching features of the building will be the addition of greenery around the facade. The various terraces and roofs will be installed with “polder roofs” — named after the lush land tracts ubiquitous in the Netherlands — that will be heavily landscaped. The polder roofs will serve as “green enclaves” for residents and rainwater collection sites; collected rainwater will be reused during the growing season to irrigate the roof gardens. The solar-powered building will also encourage sustainable mobility by providing shared electric cars and bicycles.

Images Mecanoo via Inhabitat

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