Brink Tower by Mecanoo was just granted planning permission and construction works are planned for mid-October 2022. Located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, the 90-meter-high building, developed by Xior Student Housing and DubbeLL – winners of the competition for this tower together with Mecanoo Architecten in 2020- will offer a mixed program, including spaces to live, work, and relax in a healthy environment. The residential tower is set to create an" energy-positive, green, and inclusive neighborhood" and contribute to the development of Overhoeks in North Amsterdam.
Located on the IJ opposite the Central Station in Amsterdam North, the Overhoek is an urban development that includes more than 2200 home units, offices, and public spaces. Started in 2005 and expected to be ready by 2026, the district is conceived as a sustainable and green neighborhood with projects by Rudy Uytenhaak + partners architects, KAAN Architecten, and De Zwarte Hond.
The 28-story tower will accommodate a mixed program with a commercial area and social housing distributed over 30,184 square meters. Creating 408 residential units in total, the project puts in place120 affordable housing units and 266 units in the middle range. The plan also comprises a residential care facility combined with a community center, a communal roof, an inner garden, commercial functions such as co-working, a bowling center with a restaurant, and various smaller retail and catering venues.
The warm red brick cladding references the Amsterdam School architecture of the 1920s that characterizes Van der Pek. The brickwork is integrated with concrete bands and detailing in the facades, which frame full-height windows to the top on all sides. Another reference to the site is the project's name. From the old dutch word "Brink," which means a green open space where people meet, the tower frames the transformative social role in the growing community in the north of Amsterdam.
The Brink Tower is designed to become an energy-positive residential tower, generating more energy than it consumes. Thanks to photovoltaics on terraces and facades, wind and more solar energy harvesting on the top roof, and various energy-saving measures, including an aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) system. The side facing the Van der Pek neighborhood has a slender shape with a cascade of green, communal roof terraces, and gardens where residents can meet. It also takes biodiversity to new levels, not just with its choice of vegetation but with nests and nooks for birds and insects. The Brink Tower shows that humanity and nature can co-exist in harmony even in the city.
Mecanoo Architecten has also revealed a proposal for a railway zone in Holland's oldest city and is currently working on what will soon become the tallest high-rise ensemble in The Hague. Dubbed "The Grace," the two towers, one at 150 meters high and the other at 180 meters, respond to the growing demand for affordable housing, fostering an enhanced sense of community.
