Samenvatting

The route along the Eems, the river flowing outwards from the old water- and city gate of Amersfoort, has become a new destination within the city, with a cultural and commercial center, makers places and transformed old factories. To continue this route, the site of a waste collecting plant is opened and replanned into a working and living quarter. This project transforms the former main warehouse into a co-living unit. Within the redesigned skin of the warehouse a new construction of three floors on both longitudinal sides provides space for a program of mixed housing types and optional collective kitchens mainly on the two upper floors, and mixed functions in the plinth. The central zone is split into two atria, one for public functions and activities, the other as communal meeting space. In the middle are the vertical connections, as well as a grand staircase leading up to the attic floor. Economy of means is one of the goals of the design, but so are social space and interaction between the inhabitants. Towards this end the galleries are supplied with extra balconies and carefully designed facades, which extend the living sphere beyond the front door into shared space. The functions in the plinth, atrium and hall in the annex can spill out towards the waterfront, to tie in with city life. In an unobtrusive way the project brings inhabitants and city together, inside and out.