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• The construction of the North/South metro line in Amsterdam provides an occasion to renovate and expand the existing Buikslotermeerplein shopping centre and to build a new residential area near the north terminus station of this metro line.
  Amsterdam-Noord is characterized by an alternation of village-like and urban neighbourhoods, and is made up of enclaves, each with its own atmosphere. This contrast between high-rise and low-rise environments and green areas is a feature of the plan. The shopping area will have a maximum blending and stacking of functions. The streets and squares will be lined by large and small shops. At night, too, this will be a pleasant place to be, thanks to cafés and restaurants, a cinema complex, a bowling alley and probably a theatre. Dwellings will be located around communal green courtyards on the roofs of the shops. Space has been allocated around the station for high residential and office towers. In the residential zone, on the other hand, a low-rise environment will be created, with generous space around the dwellings. The long ring canal will serve as a transition area, curving north to south and linking the different zones. The buildings along either side of the canal will be high, urban and stone-like. Portals will provide access to the green areas with low-rises behind. Here rows of wooden houses will be built, with ditches in between, in a reference to the village houses in the rural areas of Amsterdam-Noord and Waterland.
  The plan has been designed as a structure of urban spaces. The lines of the new shopping area will follow the parallel streets of the existing shopping centre, except that gently curving spaces will replace straight streets. The route runs under the new 200-metre-long metro viaduct. Instead of the large plaza the city government had envisioned for this spot, the urban space will be made smaller and adjusted to the human scale. The width of the streets is narrower than the height of the viaduct, making the negative effect of the large-scale viaduct hardly noticeable anymore. The new bus station and the parking garage under the viaduct will also be hidden from view by encasing them in fronts with attractive functions. The route ends in a park with a large water feature, an idyllic green setting within walking distance of the urban centre.
  
  [A] Sjoerd Soeters
  [P] Shops, offices, houses, leisure, education & services
  [G] 3,377 houses en 480,320 m2 other
  [C] Noordwaarts; CZAN bv; ING Real Estate Development

Amsterdam - CAN 2001>2015