Smart urban densification

Quartermaker sets tone; first residential project in Amsterdam Port-City

Kwartiermaker is to a design by the Architekten Cie. and the first residential project in the core area of Amsterdam Port-City; an example of smart urban densification. It is a place where living, working and meeting come together. The preliminary design was approved in early January and construction is expected to start 2025.

Recognizable and vibrant building blocks

Quarterly sets the tone for Port City. It anchors itself as a recognizable and dynamic building block. It is prominently and visibly located on the newly formed city park on Transformatorweg. With a variety of stacked programs in building volumes ranging from 30 to 65 meters, the project generates a mix of functions, densification and identity.

Housing variety shapes inclusive neighborhood

The design for Quartermaster includes 243 housing units, with housing types in a rich variety from social rent, mid-range to higher-end. This attracts a diverse group of residents. This creates a vibrant and varied block as a building block for an inclusive neighborhood. Within the block, several specials contribute to meeting and living together on a small scale: a community room, courtyard garden, catering, gym and a home office are available to residents of the own block and to future neighbors.

Natural oases in the city

Quartermaster's design connects green elements at different levels. These are part of a "green" master plan of Port-City. The municipality takes care of the Transformer Park and the Railway Park. Quartermaker connects to this with a pocket park on Isolatorweg, green facades on the outer edges, a roof garden in the court and an open green staircase that connects the green inner world with Transformator Park. These green oases enable a rich and diverse natural environment in the city. They also provide space for relaxation and a place for meetings between residents.

Next-level Mobility

Port-City, as an area development, is making the leap to future-proof mobility. Less (and less visible) car use, stimulating the bicycle and putting more effort into Mobility As A Service (MAAS). All projects are developed within these principles. Parking spaces for cars are largely a public facility for electric sharing cars at the neighborhood level, Bicycle facilities for residents are generous and maximally visible and accessible. A public share bike depot provides an attractive additional choice option for getting around the city sustainably. Share cars and share bikes are supervised by a bike shop, which is also the service desk for the project and the neighborhood.

Interaction with the environment

Quartermaker's plinth was developed to interact with the street as much and as diversely as possible. There are spaces for working, catering, a gym, an entrance to the courtyard garden with the mobility service point and a pocket park. Living on this pocket and on the street form the city at eye level.

Transparent entrances to the lobbies of the upper apartments are cleverly positioned. They provide access from both the street and directly from the green courtyard garden. Garden, entrance and street are thus visually connected.

Exemplary Sloterdijk

The architecture respects the unpolished DNA of the area, highlighted by sturdy plinths, with overhead doors that can be slid open and, above them, bold volumes with solid architectural frames. At the corners, the plinths are completely transparent. This creates a lively and active street. In the upper world, the architecture is more closed. Clear volumes that participate in the rhythm of the harbor.

Metropolitan versus residential character

Residential streets in Quartermaster combine tight rhythm and brickwork, attuned to the human scale. On Transformatorweg, sturdy, concrete volumes dominate, in keeping with a larger-scale character. Light aluminum facades and a distinctive crown on the tallest tower make Kwartiermaker recognizable from afar.