海角视频

Nachteiland (Sluisbuurt 1C)

Amsterdam, the Netherlands

海角视频鈥檚 structural engineers are helping to realise a vision for a landmark new hybrid-timber tower at the heart of one of Amsterdam鈥檚 most exciting areas of regeneration.

Nachteiland has very high ambitions in sustainability and one of the highest hybrid-timber residential structures in the Netherlands, rising to 22-storeys.

As well as boasting low embodied carbon wooden structural elements, the residential-led mixed use development will feature an energy-producing solar PV facade, and abundant green and communal spaces for the city鈥檚 Sluisbuurt neighbourhood.

Nachteiland has very high ambitions in sustainability and is one of the Netherlands’ tallest hybrid-timber residential structures.

The ambition is for 61% of the building鈥檚 materials to be bio-based, and 13% recycled.

A key aspect of achieving embodied carbon goals is the hybrid nature of the materials used, which combine timber structural elements alongside reduced levels of recycled concrete and steel.

Using timber structural solutions will enable off-site construction, significantly speeding up construction and reducing project delivery costs.

Challenge

Nachteiland aims to set an example in an under-construction neighbourhood that has sustainability and green principles at its core. The development will offer 150 homes 鈥� including 59 reserved for mid-sector rental 鈥� with a focus on apartments catering to urban households, helping to address shortfalls in Amsterdam鈥檚 current housing provision.

Located at the heart of the Sluisbuurt, the design team, with the architectural studios of MVRDV and Space Encounters, has created a vision for a diverse range of apartments and retail, expressed in its visual appearance.

The shape of the building is composed of a series of blocks, which act like a collection of different 鈥渘eighbourhoods鈥�. These blocks are positioned side-by-side at ground level to form the plinth, and stacked vertically to form the tower above.

While the nature of the soil dictates the use of piling and concrete foundations, with concrete columns to the first five floors and a concrete core to provide a robust and isolated fire evacuation route, the majority of the rest of the structure will be timber-based. The limitations of working with timber structurally in a building of this height would have to be carefully assessed and factored into the overall design strategy.

Solution

Along Rudi van Dantzigstraat, the plinth is constructed out of blocks of three to six storeys, echoing the sizes of neighbouring buildings and hosting a series of double-height spaces for shops and caf茅s. On the side of the pocket park, the plinth is broken up even further to create a series of townhouses, which are punctuated in the middle by a communal greenhouse and a broad green staircase that extends the greenery upwards to a first-floor courtyard in the heart of the plot.

The tower rises to 70 metres, built up of blocks that gradually increase in size towards the top of the tower, with varying facades and outdoor spaces to underline the diversity of apartments within.

Our structural engineering experts are playing a key role in making the architectural vision a reality, with a heavy emphasis on hybrid-timber throughout. A key element of achieving the project鈥檚 embodied carbon goals is the hybrid nature of the materials used for the structure, which combine strong timber elements alongside reduced levels of recycled concrete. Timber lowers the embodied carbon of a building both because wood consumes CO₂ in its first lifecycle as a tree, but also because it generates less CO₂ in its preparation than materials such as steel and concrete, and can be easily reused and recycled at the building鈥檚 end of life.

Leveraging the expertise of our Dutch team, we can tap into 海角视频鈥檚 global knowledge, where our offices have contributed to significant hybrid-timber projects worldwide.

The structure of the building will be constructed almost entirely with wood, using concrete only in the structural core, foundations and the columns of the tower up to the sixth floor. As a result, the tender design showed that 61% of the building鈥檚 materials are bio-based, while 13% are recycled. Combined with the project鈥檚 end-of-life demountability strategy these measures aim to give the building an excellent Building Circularity Index (BCI) score of 61%.

鈥楿rban mining concrete鈥� techniques will be used to enable the recycling of existing cement elements from former buildings, further reducing the embodied carbon intensity of the building by 50% compared to conventional concrete.

The ceilings will be exposed to give visual lines to the structural timber 鈥� helping to build a biomaterial aesthetic. The use of natural timber finishes within living and working spaces has been well documented to play a key role in resident wellbeing and happiness.

The lightweight nature of the hybrid-timber structure also means that the foundations can be lighter 鈥� which provides significant cost savings in this part of the Netherlands where deep foundations are often required for tall buildings.

Balconies are designed to act as independent structures as far as possible, to optimise the structural simplicity of the main tower and direct forces straight down to the foundations. The challenging architecture leads to steps in the massing, which are solved by transfer structure. For material efficiency and limitations in the free height, these are executed in steel.

The use of timber structural solutions also enable an off-site construction approach, which significantly speeds up construction, further reducing project delivery costs for the client.
The project sets ambitious targets for energy production and consumption. Tall buildings are often difficult to make energy-neutral due to their relatively low roof surface area available for solar panels. However, in the case of Nachteiland, the building-integrated photovoltaics more than make up for the difference. The building will be energy-positive, (a BENG 2 rating lower than 0).

Value

Nachteiland will stand tall as a leading showcase of low embodied carbon solutions. Our structural engineering experts are pivotal in realising this architectural vision, with a strong focus on hybrid-timber. Additionally, our Dutch team has leveraged 海角视频鈥檚 global expertise, drawing on significant hybrid-timber projects from our offices worldwide.

As one of the most visible projects within this new neighbourhood, the project demonstrates that it is possible to address the housing crisis, while also delivering superb, eye-catching, low carbon sustainable design.