Osdorp
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Osdorp is the newest of the garden cities in west Amsterdam.
| Garden City Type: | Mixed (housing association / municipality / other) |
| Country: | Netherlands |
| City: | Amsterdam |
| Years of construction: |
1957 Start construction 1965 Completion
|
| Initiator/client: | Municipality of Amsterdam - Dienst der Publieke Werken |
| Architect or related: |
Cornelis van Eesteren Van Eesteren (1897-1988) was a Dutch architect and urban planner, known for his functionalist urban designs. |
| Heritage status: | No |
| General condition of Garden City: | Reasonable condition |
General description
Osdorp is the newest of the garden cities in west Amsterdam. It was part of the General Extension Plan (Algemeen Uitbreidingsplan, or AUP) of Amsterdam, a pre-war plan that was the basis for the expansions to the west and south after World War II.
It has become a central point for people in the surrounding garden cities as a place to shop in the Osdorpplein or go to the Meervaart theater. Of all the garden cities, Osdorp has the most striking skyline, especially when viewed from the lake (Sloterplas).
Torenwijck at Sloterplas.
Architecture / Urban planning
Cornelis van Eesteren had already drawn in high-rise apartment buildings in his expansion plan, functioning as an aesthetic accent among the low-rise development in the other garden cities.
In the sixties, high-rise construction met the continuous demand for housing. Torenwijck (literally: the tower neighbourhood) is also called the gold coast. This move towards high-rise also brought in new designs. The apartment buildings on the Notweg were, at the time, a novelty. They had elevators, chutes and even a nifty rack to hide the laundry on the balcony.
Recent developments
Since it was originally built technological advancement and modernization have taken great steps and Osdorp is also now home to a few fancy new building projects. The Oklahoma building on the Ookmeerweg by the architectural firm MVRDV, for instance, is an attraction for architecture aficionados. The floating floors in particular are worth noting. The aluminium-coloured Schutterstoren on the Oeverpad is also quite striking.
