POST-FOREIGN

At the edge of the old city centre of Amsterdam, on a small piece of land next to Paradiso, a foreign type of building is proposed. Although it holds great urban and economic value due to its attractive location - “het landje” has never been built upon. Surrounded by strictly formal 18th and 19th century neo-classical buildings, this unclaimed land undermines the narrative and mainstream perception of the city of Amsterdam. Through a local interpretation of Israeli integration centres, the project proposes a place of transition and integration for immigrants and refugees - a population which is becoming increasingly present in Dutch cities, and is often seen as a cultural, economic and political threat by locals. In this light, the project offers a two-faceted integration, which not only actively welcomes newcomers to the heart of Amsterdam, but also creates an unmediated positive interaction between them and the local populace.

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Comprised of three timber structures, the centre adapts its character and functions when confronting the different urban situations around it. The main building, facing Weteringschans street, hosts a three-storey high workshop, which offers an intensive connection between the lively activity taking place in it and the street. Its size, proportions and palace-like façade attempt to echo its formal surroundings, while not hiding the presence of exposed wood. On the southwest, a two-storey building facing the canal provides a temporary housing solution for five residents, referring to the Dutch boathouse typology. A courtyard connects the workshop and the house, creating an intimate open-air room as the heart of a sequence of indoor and outdoor spaces: workshop, corridor, house; street, courtyard, canal.