Jonas building IJburg, Amsterdam homes, Orange Architects housing, Dutch residential photos

Jonas building IJburg Amsterdam

8 May 2023

Design: Orange Architects

Location: Krijn Taconiskade 1 – 567, Eva Besnyöstraat 1-9, IJburg, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Amsterdam boasts unique housing concept: Jonas’ building completed in IJburg

Photos by Sebastian van Damme

Jonas building IJburg housing

This week the doors of the Jonas’ residential building opened in Amsterdam. Jonas’ is a remarkable building, located beside the port of IJburg, containing 273 apartments and a range of public and shared amenities. Forming a sustainable and inviting heart for the neighbourhood, the building enhances social cohesion in the still relatively new urban district. In addition, Jonas’ has achieved the highest attainable sustainability rating: BREEAM Outstanding. This is a unique achievement for a residential building in the Netherlands.

The name Jonas’ refers to the story of Jonas and the Whale. It stands for adventure, but also for protection and enclosure inside a ‘big body’. An imposing building with a warm heart, and housing concept that focuses on connections. Within its walls, Jonas’ accommodates a real community as well as many public and community spaces where residents can share amenities or undertake things together. Jonas’ epitomizes a new way of living: aware, sustainable and social. The 273 dwellings distributed throughout the building consist of 190 midmarket rental units and 83 owner-occupied units, varying from compact apartments to freely dividable lofts. Amvest will manage the 190 rental units. Jonas’ forms the final piece of development around the port of IJburg, located at the centre of the island.

Jonas’ stimulates encounters

Everybody is welcome at Jonas’, and that attracts a wide variety of residents. They consciously choose for the concept of collective living and share the same values in the area of sustainability and social interaction. The rental apartments are relatively small, but they offer a lot of living comfort thanks to the many shared amenities that the building offers. These special functions, such as the relaxation space, workspace, two guestrooms, shared living room with coffee bar, canyon with mountain pathway, forest patio, roof-top beach and bar, shared cars and cinema, form a chain of experiences running through the building. Enhancing the sense of belonging are the community managers, who act as points of contact for the residents. They regularly organize events for Jonas’ and the neighbourhood, but residents can also initiate their own activities.

In this way, Jonas’ becomes the living room of IJburg and it also has much to offer the neighbourhood. The rock, which in addition to serving as the entrance to the underground car park also forms a bank of seating on the forecourt, announces Jonas’ to the street. The forecourt itself acts as a three-dimensional playground, offering space for all sorts of special activities such as film screenings and events. The green design, with trees providing shade, invites people to linger, and in the summer there is even an urban beach along the canal. Commercial spaces in the plinth accommodate functions that benefit the community living in the neighbourhood.

High sustainability score

Jonas’ has secured the highest attainable rating in the field of sustainability and innovation: the BREEAM Outstanding Design and BREEAM Outstanding Post-Construction certificate. In addition to these certificates, the BREEAM Outstanding In-Use certificate has also been applied for. This is reflected not only in the use of materials but also in the choice of cleaning contractor.

Jonas’ is packed with technically sustainable features. The zero-energy building boasts a large number of solar panels on the roof. The sustainable energy is used for, among others, the mechanical installations and lighting system. Moreover, a low-temperature heating system connects to the public heating grid. The cold storage source makes use of nearby water: Thermal Energy from Surface Water (TEO). This allows homes to be both heated and cooled. In addition to the future-proof energy supply, the design aims to reduce the use of materials and to reuse raw materials. The environmental impact of materials was an important selection criterion, and the use of various raw materials was considered on multiple occasions during the design process. Moreover, the shadow price and carbon footprint of construction materials were constantly monitored and optimized.

Design and landscape

The architecture of Jonas’ is remarkable. From the outside, the building has a striking and sturdy appearance. It expresses in a distinctive manner the themes of the site: the water, the quayside and the craft of shipbuilding. The irregular arrangement of openings creates the impression that the windows are slowly undulating across the facade. That makes Jonas’ a bit different. It is not faced in stone but in dark pre-weathered zinc. The facade does not touch the ground but is lifted clear of it. The volume is not rectangular but lozenge-shaped. These qualities make the building both familiar and foreign, rational yet sculptural, recognizable yet innovative.

But the real surprise of Jonas’ awaits inside. This is inviting and warm and expresses a modern and sustainable community life. The interior is surprising and surrealistic. A tall space extending the full height of the building and topped by a glazed roof is completely finished in natural-coloured timber slats, evoking associations with a canyon. Grouped around it are the apartments and collective spaces with their entrances. This spectacular space forms the backbone of the building and connects the vibrant plinth – containing cafés, offices, cinema and shared living room – with the rest of the building. From the living room, a stairs rises to the first floor from where a ‘mountain pathway’ runs through the building to the roof-top beach. A layer of water that flows across the glazed roof above the canyon creates a pleasant ambiance in this outdoor space and cools the glass above the canyon in the summer.

“The spatial concept of Jonas’ is based on the construction of traditional wooden ships. A skeleton consisting of a series of trusses arranged in a row forms the main structure. This allows large hollows, such as the canyon or the forest patio, to be carved out of the volume, and the required housing programme is contained within the skin of the building.” Jeroen Schipper and Patrick Meijers, partners Orange Architects.

The landscape extends deep into the furthest corners of Jonas’. Together with its surroundings, the building forms a genuine ‘living landscape’, which is visible in the design of the forecourt, the water playground, the forest patio and the roof-top beach. The landscape design is nature-inclusive and is aimed at strengthening the ecological values of the area. For example, planting is done with native riverside vegetation. Moreover, mussel reefs are created in the water as a natural way of improving water quality and increasing biodiversity.\

Jonas is a development by Amvest, designed by Orange Architects, in collaboration with ABT, Felixx Landscape Architects and Planners, Site urban development, Floor Ziegler and Pubblik & Vos interior architects. The building was constructed by Ballast Nedam West.

Jonas building IJburg Amsterdam housing, Holland – Housing Information

Location: Krijn Taconiskade 1 – 567, Eva Besnyöstraat 1-9, Amsterdam
Design: 2017
Realisation: 2022
Size: 29950 m2
Program: Mixed-use
Client: Amvest

Architect: Orange Architects
Team: Patrick Meijers, Jeroen Schipper, Paul Kierkels, Elena Staskute,
Florentine van der Vaart, Irina Vaganova, Athanasia Kalaitzidou,
Gloria Caiti, Luís Cardoso, Kapilan Chandranesan, Eric Eisma,
Filippo Garuglieri, Casper van Leeuwen, Francesco Mainetti,
Manuel Magnaguagno, Angela Park, Niek van der Putten,
Erika Ruiz, Ivan Shkurko

Contractor: Ballast Nedam West
Advisors: ABT, Felixx Landscape Architects, Bureau Stadsnatuur, Pubblik&Vos, Site Urban Development, JMJ Bouwmanagement, Floor Ziegler, SmitsRinsma

Subcontractors and manufacturers:

Albeton Algemene Betonmaatschappij BV, Asona, Beeldwerk Signsupport, Blom Elektrotechniek, BPI Bouwplaatsinrichting, BPZ, Coors Interieurbouw, DBS Logipark BV, De Boom Bouw BV, De Kroon, Duracryl, EcoTec, Esbi, Faber Betonpompen BV, Facto Geo, Franki Grondtechnieken BV, Glasbergen, Glascentrale Midden Holland, Glasdesign, Harryvan Interieurbouw, Holterman Wapeningsstaal, IBA Consultants Dak- en geveladvies, IF Technology, Interplan Bouwsupport, JdB GWW BV, Kawneer, Klomp Technisch Buro BV, Konijn Houtbewerking, Kooy Baksteencentrum BV, Kwakman Tegels, Lo Minck, Lubristra kranen BV, Master Protection, MAT 25, Merford, Metaglas, MyPup, OBI, Orion, Reneco, Rollecate, Rots Maatwerk, Schindler Liften BV, Solarlux, Svedex, Trahecon, Van der Tol, Van Rooijen-Balk, Van Wanrooij, Versluys Groep BV, Vic Obdam, Vios, Warema, WVH Gevelprojecten BV, XAL, Zaanstad

Photography: Sebastian van Damme
Aerial: Orange Architects

Jonas building IJburg Amsterdam housing, Holland, images / information received 080523 from Orange Architects

Location: Krijn Taconiskade 1 – 567, Eva Besnyöstraat 1-9, IJburg, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, western Europe

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