Hoogte and Laagte Kadijk Housing • KAAN Architecten

This project was originally designed by Claus en Kaan Architecten.

The four projects built on Hoogte and Laagte Kadijk emerged from a ‘surgical’ intervention in the dense fabric of East Amsterdam, between the former Entrepotdok and the Nieuwe Vaart. The buildings all have an efficient interior design and a compact point of entry, with a central staircase or with a garden exit. The carefully designed entrances present different materials, colours, and a diffusion of light within the space. The front elevations clearly refer to the historical narrow houses typical of the area.

In Hoogte Kadijk, the red bricks, the façade, and the robust window frames add a touch of the architectural style of the early 20th-century Amsterdam School. In Laagte Kadijk, the stack-bonded brick walls above concrete plinths and the rigorous rhythm of the façade recall typical warehouse architecture. The residential fronts have been kept as flat as possible, with minimal cosmetic detail.