Circular porch apartments
de Punt, Amsterdam-Osdorp

Large-scale urban renewal has taken place in De Punt, in Amsterdam-Osdorp, in recent years. Many of the original residential buildings from the reconstruction period have made way for new construction. A few years ago, Ymere decided, in consultation with the municipality, not to demolish the last 3 residential buildings (162 porch apartments) in the area south of the Osdorper Ban, but to preserve and thoroughly renovate them. Ymere previously selected construction company De Nijs as a partner. De Nijs and Ymere together chose Temp.architecture as the architect for this transformation assignment. The 3 buildings were designed in the early 1960s by architect Hein Klarenbeek, partner at the architectural firm of the renowned reconstruction architect Berghoef. These architects were experienced in applying the so-called Airey building system, a building system originating from England that allowed large-scale housing to be built quickly and with few resources after the Second World War. The buildings to be preserved in the Punt were also built with the Airey construction method. The flats were renovated in the early 1990s. Much of the original concrete structure then disappeared behind insulating Cempanel panels, giving the buildings a different appearance.