Rivierstaete, Amsterdam

Completed in 1973, Hugh Maaskant’s Modernist monument quickly became known as the apenrots (monkey mountain) for its massive, shut-off volumes. To make the building more responsive to its context, is was stripped back to its structure of staggered volumes, replacing the thin bands of windows on its white tiled façade with floor-to-ceiling glass. Planted roof terraces and a sky bar on the roof further open up the building to its riverside environment.

A 1970s icon

When Rivierstaete was completed in 1973, it was Europe’s largest office building. Its eight floors were covered in six million white tiles and its narrow windows were arranged in bands. It stood out dramatically from its context, the human-scaled brick dwellings and public buildings of Berlage’s gracious Plan Zuid development. By dissolving the office’s heavy materiality and replacing it with transparency, our renovated Riverstaete can finally embrace Berlage’s neighbourhood.

Up in the air

On the ninth floor of Rivierstaete a 325m2 roof terrace offers jaw-dropping views of the Amstel and Amsterdam – the perfect location for a sky bar, which will add further energy to the building in the form of an important public space. Planted terraces will also feature on the staggered rooftops of the lower levels, adding soothing greenery to further soften the building’s hard edges and strengthening the connection between inside and outside.

Climate control

A sophisticated system controls the climate ceilings which are present throughout the building, along with energy-efficient lighting with daylight control and motion detection. A storage system and a façade incorporating triple-glazed solar control glass will also help the building to meet BREEAM certification standards.

Award: Honorable mention Architecture Masterprize