Buurt Negen

Buurt Negen (Neighborhood Nine) is a grouping of 1,600 units of housing in Geuzenveld in the Western Garden Cities of Amsterdam. The housing is primarily owned and managed by three of the largest nonprofit housing corporations and leading developers of affordable housing in the Amsterdam. In 1995 the neighborhood was designated as a pilot project for the redevelopment of the Western Garden Cities.

At the time, an elevated highway cut through the area. Originally intended to connect the Garden Cities to Amsterdam’s new harbor facilities, the now underused viaduct disrupted the residential fabric of the neighborhood. By 1995, plans had already been prepared to raze the highway structure to make way for new housing.

In 1996 a public-private partnership of the borough of Geuzenveld-Slotermeer and the three housing corporations (De Alliantie, Woonstichting De Key, and Het Oosten/Kristal) commissioned a comprehensive plan for the revitalization of Buurt Negen. I managed the planning and public input process during the initial phases of the project (1996-1998). A spatial framework was laid out by planning firm Urhahn Urban Design. Young architects were invited to develop conceptual design strategies. These efforts resulted in a masterplan that was approved in 1998. The masterplan has been implemented. Two of the newly-built projects, designed by VenhoevenCs Architects and Faro Architects, were awarded prizes for outstanding architecture and innovative approach. Another architectual highlight, an apartment building designed by the internationally known firm MVRDV, has been built adjacent to Eendrachtspark on the edge of the neighborhood.