Olympisch Kwartier

Lafour, Wijk and Ebberink's urban development plan extends H.P. Berlage's renowned Amsterdam South development to the south of the Olympic Stadium by adding a neighbourhood of 6 blocks of apartments. The vision for this 'Olympic Quarter' is an extension of the expressionistic early 20th century Amsterdam School architecture of Amsterdam South, where the façades of the buildings form walls which frame the 'interior' of the street. Despite its elegant construction, the design aims at a rationalisation of housing types by a process of standardisation starting from the corners. The apartments themselves have a traditional urban front/rear layout. The calm, light, inner side of the enclosed building block is accentuated by the repetition of adjoining bedrooms with small balconies. At the front, the more dynamic city side, the living rooms benefit from being made as broad as possible.