The traffic junction near Zaandam, north of Amsterdam, has been marked since its completion in the Sixties by a number of towering apartment buildings. Visually, it is a strong combination, but acoustically, it’s a head-on collision. A proposal to add a
fly-over included installing an anti-noise screen along the road. The Highway Department was persuaded to shift finances for the screen to insulate the buildings.

The vast surface involved allowed a made-to-measure design. The one-storey high sliding glass panels are installed at a
7-degree forward slant. This prevents annoying reflections, subdivides the total glazed area and makes it possible to drain rain water floor by floor. At the corners the glass panes are structurally glued together for an ultimate transparency at the edges. Each apartment now has a glass porch like a sky box overlooking the green pastures.

Entrances were updated with a slender steel frame, plenty of glass and distinct graphics. Coming home has become a lot more exciting.

Editorials featuring Housing