Every year, the Municipality of Amsterdam grants the Zuiderkerk Prize, an award handed out to the client and architect of the best housing project in the city. Criteria such as architectural and urban development elaboration, program and typology in its context, price-quality ratio, sustainability, and adaptability play a role in the assessment. Out of 63 projects, a selection of 12 projects has been made of which three have been nominated in the end. The jury mentions:

‘This combination of ground-level houses and apartments meets many contemporary desires and needs. For the houses in three layers, with the kitchen on the ground floor and the bedrooms on the second floor, the middle floor has been conceived as a ‘neutral’ layer. Depending on your stage of life and the composition of your household, you can work, play, sleep, or live there: over the years you can move into your own home, as it were. There is also a communal outdoor space, in the garden or on the roof of the car park that is placed between the blocks. Initially, the houses were intended for the elderly, but starters have discovered that they can get relatively many square meters in Geuzenveld for relatively little money and that they are also close to the ring road. This form of social sustainability deserves a nomination, according to the jury’.

U3 Drie Bouwmeesters

Amsterdam (NL), 2006