Anton Staalbouw contributed to the realization of the Up Mountain apartment complex, which is placed on top of a column-free parking garage. Not only the large span, but also the stacking of functions of parking and living posed a constructive issue.
The construction activities at Buitenplein in Amstelveen have started with the transformation of the old V&D department store. The department store was a closed concrete building. For Hudson’s Bay it has been transformed into an open and inviting building where the facade certainly catches the eye.
Boundary design
At the start of the design activities, the starting point was to be able to open the renovated department store with parking garage as soon as possible. The option to put apartments in the parking garage was added to the plan during the design process. The result was that the most important design choices for the parking garage had already been made and had to be included as a precondition for the structural design of the apartment building.
Design apartment building
The hallmark of Up Mountain is the two-way stepped shape of the roof terraces, which makes it situated in the parking garage like a “mountain village”. Because of this shape, the grid size of 15.3 meters is divided into three parts.
Balconies and facade
The facade of the apartment building had to form a whole with the facade of the adjacent department store, executed in architectural concrete. Constructing the facade elements and balconies of the apartment complex in concrete was not desirable, however, due to the high weight. For this reason, it was decided to design the facade styles, the balcony ceilings and edges in glass fiber reinforced composite that matches the color of the facades of the department store.
Building with Steel
In the realization of this immense project, Anton Staalbouw was able to play a role in every facet; the transformation of the department store, the development of the parking garage and the construction of the apartment complex. Anton Staalbouw was assisted in this by Anton Construction. Curious about the complete realization of this complicated project? Read the complete article from Bouwen met Staal edition 8 | 2020 here.
