Mecanoo

De Halve Maen Apartment Building

De Halve Maen Apartment Building
Courtesy of Mecanoo

DE HALVE MAEN APARTMENT BUILDING

Mecanoo

ARCHITECTS
Mecanoo

MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEER
Halmos Bv

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
Ingenieursbureau Zonneveld

DAYLIGHT CONSULTANT
Peutz, Mook

BUILDING PHYSICS AND FIRE SAFETY CONSULTANT
Halmos Bv

CLIENT
Ymere

BUILDING COSTS CONSULTANT
Bbn Adviseurs

AREA
11000 m²

YEAR
2014

LOCATION
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

CATEGORY
Apartments

OVERHOEKS

De Halve Maen, named after the vessel of the Dutch East India Company, is an apartment building that is part of the Overhoeks development.

De Halve Maen Apartment Building
Courtesy of Mecanoo
De Halve Maen Apartment Building
Courtesy of Mecanoo

Attractive, high-quality, spacious homes have been created on the former Shell terrain, beautifully located on the north shore of the river IJ. Mecanoo designed a symmetrical U-shaped building in a park area with a tall masonry plinth and tiered superstructure.

CHALLENGE AND INSPIRATION
 

In contrast with the rigid structure of the urban plan, the design of De Halve Maen forms a subtle play between the symmetry and massing.

De Halve Maen Apartment Building
Courtesy of Mecanoo
De Halve Maen Apartment Building
Courtesy of Mecanoo

The orientation of the residences, outdoor spaces, public courtyard and a division between lower and upper building forms are instrumental to this approach.

The inspiration for the design and material selection was the elegant limestone buildings of Paris with their large doors, ornate wrought iron fences and zinc roofs.

De Halve Maen Apartment Building
Courtesy of Mecanoo
De Halve Maen Apartment Building
Courtesy of Mecanoo

Wherever possible, the apartments have been given two (or more) sided orientation to provide maximum sunlight, resulting in an asymmetrical building layout and a variety of outdoor pocket spaces.

IDIOSYNCRATIC UPPER WORLD

The entrance of the building connects to the courtyard and is located to the side of the courtyard. The facade of the substructure is six storeys.

At the courtyard the facade extends seven, and further accentuating the height of the building. The remaining levels of the lower part of the building are five to six storeys.

The staggered roofline, combined with vertical incisions and the transparent entrance hall combine to create a dynamic building.

De Halve Maen Apartment Building
Courtesy of Mecanoo
De Halve Maen Apartment Building
House Type Q

The facade is clad in gradations of warm yellow brickwork, with the balconies detailed in slender elegant railings.

By embedding the double swinging doors into the facade, a French-style balconette with the same iron work has been created for each window. The top three floors create a unique idiosyncratic upper world.

De Halve Maen Apartment Building
House Type v
De Halve Maen Apartment Building
Section

Extruding segments of the building envelope and adding volume elsewhere creates a sculpture of volumes that flow into one another. Twenty special penthouses with large roof gardens are located on these floors.

DIVERSITY

Opening the large doors on a sunny day gives the feeling of already being outside. On colder days, the floor-to-ceiling windows allow for an abundance of daylight.

De Halve Maen Apartment Building
Sketch
De Halve Maen Apartment Building
Sketch

A large variety of floor plans (53 to 136m2) offer a freedom of choice to the tenants, and therefore creates a diverse range of residents.


De Halve Maen Apartment Building
Ground Floor Plan
De Halve Maen Apartment Building
Mezzanine Plan


De Halve Maen Apartment Building
7 th Fioor Plan
De Halve Maen Apartment Building
House Type A

Mecanoo
T +31 15 2798100
Mecanoo
Oude Delft 203, 2611 HD Delft, Netherlands