Amsterdam, the Netherlands - ING is moving from the Amsterdamse Poort area to its new headquarters. Following this move, the G&S Vastgoed, OVG Real Estate and VolkerWessels consortium will be transforming the newly vacant office building, to create a multifunctional plan, consisting primarily of apartments and an international school. With a gross floor area of approximately 91,000 m2, the office is one of the largest commercial buildings in Amsterdam.
| Location | Amsterdam, the Netherlands |
| Assignment | City park design |
| Size | 15 hectares |
| Design | 2016 |
| Construction | 2019-2020 |
| Client | G&S Vastgoed |
| Team | Leonieke Heldens, Ferry Streng |
| In collaboration with | Architecture firm Alberts & Van Huut |
The unique roof gardens, the atriums and the public green space at the complex need to be redesigned, since future users will be making different and more intensive use of these than the office workers at the bank. We drew up a design that fits the identity of the modern city dwellers who will be coming to live here.
We added all kinds of functions. Sustainability is a high priority for the intended target group. In order to create sustainable gardens in an unnatural urban environment, we borrowed ideas from nature. The conditions in high mountain areas formed the inspiration for a successful rooftop garden construction. An important principle was the fact that a balanced ecological system requires the presence of both long and short cycles; in addition to sustainable, slow-growing trees and shrubs, displays of perennials and self-propagating annuals will change across the seasons. We are working with a wide range of planting styles – from vegetation provided by ornamental English country garden planting to sparse grasslands.
