Valley by MVRDV in Amsterdam
It combines a landscape-like shape with a very urban program: MVRDV’s Valley, a 103 m high project in Amsterdam which lately reached its highest point, will contain apartments, shops, offices, cultural institutes, and a creative centre, as well as lots of green. A major feature of the 75.000m2 project in the Zuidas business district are terraces, bay-windows, and balconies, with dense planting designed by landscape architect Piet Oudolf.
The project designed for EDGE Technologies consists of three towers with a valley-like shape between them. The accessible part of this spaces stretches up to the fifth floor, and will be publicly accessible via staircases that wind upwards from the ground floor. Below the valley is the grotto, a large interior hall providing access to shops and offices, clad in natural stone and lit by two large skylights that also serve as ponds for the valley. The trees and plants, which are maintained using an automatic irrigation system, will have a positive effect on the sense of well-being of both people who live and work in the building. In terms of sustainability, the dramatic greening and the arrangement of the terraced landscape to create optimum sunlight and daylight conditions for the apartments both contribute to the target of BREEAM-NL Excellent certification.
Construction of Valley started at the end of 2017 and the building is expected to be completed in 2021. On the way, as MVRDV announced, more and more tenants are being confirmed. Among them is Sapiens, for which Naturalis Biodiversity Center and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam recently teamed up with EDGE Technologies and The Why Factory, MVRDV’s think tank at TU Delft. Sapiens is a creative centre to be used as a museum, workshop, and debate centre where young people and scientists can work together on projects that improve our planet.