In
the most densely populated area of the Netherlands, the city of
Amsterdam undertook the monumental challenge of designing a community
for 45,000 inhabitants on 495 hectares of nonexistent land. Creating
a new landmass by reclaiming seven islands from dredged sand in
IJmeer, a lake on Amsterdam’s east side, residents with a fondness
for waterfront property will have their choice of custom homes or
high-rise apartments.
The
mixed-used development known as IJburg is the first integrated and
sustainable urban development project of its size constructed in an
environmentally sensitive area. A multibillion euro project that will
increase Amsterdam’s housing capacity by 6 percent and provide
shelter, education, employment, and leisure activities for its
residents, the project includes the design and construction of 18,000
single-family homes as well as apartment buildings, schools, office
complexes, city parks, and beaches. Construction began in 1996 and is
scheduled to be completed by 2020.
The city of Amsterdam designed a community for 45,000 inhabitants by reclaiming seven islands from dredged sand.
The
city of Amsterdam’s physical planning department designed the
infrastructure and public spaces, and allocated plots for development
by corporate and private investors, housing developers, and
individuals. The new urban area requires a light-rail connection to
Amsterdam, more than 80 bridges to connect the islands to one another
and the mainland, roads, water and sewer systems, utilities, and
sports and leisure areas.
Development
of IJburg is proceeding in phases. Each of the seven islands will
have its own unique characteristics, but the common urban design
scheme is based on a rectangular grid of neighborhood blocks, green
strips, and waterways. The blocks are being designed by teams of
architects overseen by one supervisory team, while private plots are
being developed without oversight. While the urban design concepts
will be experimental in nature, the design of public spaces will
provide cohesion among the communities.
As
the gateway to IJburg, the island of Steigereiland is a “collage
city” with eight individualized neighborhoods, including more than
200 floating homes. Haveneiland, the largest island, is divided into
east and west districts with a diverse mixture of housing,
businesses, restaurants, and bars. Centrumeiland is the central
junction and will have a distinctly urban character. On the three
smaller islands, including Rieteiland, residential plots are being
developed by their owners.
Island
neighbors
An
estimated 3,000 people will ultimately be involved in the IJburg
development. The Bentley-enabled environment provides a unified
vision and quality control. “Within this integrated environment,
our design team can easily exchange information with governmental
departments inside and outside of Amsterdam, as well as with
companies in the Netherlands and abroad,” said
As
the gateway to IJburg, the island of Steigereiland is a “collage
city” with eight individualized neighborhoods, including more than
200 floating homes. Haveneiland, the largest island, is divided into
east and west districts with a diverse mixture of housing,
businesses, restaurants, and bars.
Arjan Molenaar,
project coordinator for the physical planning department. “Once
created, the information is reused many times and can be exported in
multiple file types, such as DWG, JPEG, and PDF, to support all
members of the project teams as well as third-party suppliers -- even
those not standardized on Bentley software.”
A
major challenge the design team faced on the IJburg project is its
location in a densely populated area with a complex network of roads,
canals, and air corridors. Designs must consider safety aspects such
as minimum pass-height of bridges, flooding risks, and the height of
buildings on the approach paths to Schipol airport. A further
challenge is the location of the project in a government-protected
European bird-migration zone that cannot be disturbed.
Project
planning and coordination is divided among multiple public and
private project participants. “The Bentley portfolio of solutions
allows us to use collaborative workflows for land mapping, urban
development, infrastructure design, and road and rail track to design
IJburg’s new infrastructure and model the cityscape in 3D for
planning purposes,” explained Molenaar. “The breadth of Bentley’s
solutions for local government has allowed us to standardize citywide
on Bentley geospatial and civil engineering technology.”
The
city’s design approach considered ecological, social, and economic
factors to make the development a success. The result will be a
sustainable land development project that creates an environment
where people can safely and comfortably live and work, and at the
same time protects the environment for birds, fish, and other aquatic
life.
A major challenge is its location in a densely populated area with a complex network of roads, canals, and air corridors.
At
this time, roughly half of the IJburg project area is ready for
development. Housing construction on Steigereiland began in 2002, the
first buildings on Haveneiland West were completed in 2001, and
residential areas on Haveneiland East were completed in 2007, marking
the end of the first phase of IJburg’s development.
With
Steigereiland, Haveneiland, and Rieteiland well under way and 12
years to go before construction on all of the islands is complete,
calculating the total costs and potential savings over the nearly
quarter-century project lifespan is difficult. However, the physical
planning department estimates that Bentley solutions will ultimately
save at least 50 man-years, or about $6.3 million.
“Bentley
provides a software portfolio that is allowing us to execute our
project strategy exactly as any municipality would hope to do -- in
an integrated manner, making the most of collaborative workflows,
within time constraints and cost budgets, and with a high-quality
result,” Molenaar concluded.
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In
the most densely populated area of the Netherlands, the city of
Amsterdam undertook the monumental challenge of designing a community
for 45,000 inhabitants on 495 hectares of nonexistent land. Creating
a new landmass by reclaiming seven islands from dredged sand in
IJmeer, a lake on Amsterdam’s east side, residents with a fondness
for waterfront property will have their choice of custom homes or
high-rise apartments.
