IJburg is a residential neighbourhood under construction since 2013 in the east of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It is situated in the IJ-lake and is built on artificial islands which have been raised from the lake. It is part of the borough of Amsterdam-Oost.
On its six artificial islands, 18,000 homes will be eventually be built for 45,000 residents. At present, the district holds just 16,000 of these inhabitants. There are many initiatives to attract people to the area, such as the beach at Blijburg aan Zee, and the newly formed IJburg Tennis Club. The zoning for the area allowed space for a tennis club, but a building could not be built quickly enough, and so the courts were made and a temporary facility installed. Now MVRDV’s design has filled this gap with an iconically functional building which combines a viewing platform with a club overlooking the water.
The aim of the club is to be as accessible as possible, meaning that it is open to the public, free of charge, 365 days a year. Not a private club, but instead it had to become a meeting place for young and old, where you can grab a coffee and or a healthy snack, meet with friends, or even just check your emails. MVRDV’s challenge was to create a building that works as a central gathering for the park. A living room for IJburg, where the building became a part of the community like a piece of street furniture. The result is extraordinary.
MVRDV was founded in 1993 by Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The practice engages globally in providing solutions to contemporary architectural and urban issues. A highly collaborative, research-based design method involves clients, stakeholders and experts from a wide range of fields from early on in the creative process. The results are exemplary, outspoken projects, which enable our cities and landscapes to develop towards a better future.
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