Strandeiland M3

Strandeiland M3 is the biobased and intergenerational contribution to a new artificial island in Amsterdam. Alongside fellow architects LEVS, MEESVISSER, DELVA, and client AM, BETA won the bid to design 344 homes with several material and social innovations.

BETA is responsible for a hybrid block that quite literally builds on their research into intergenerational living. Housing corporation De Alliantie will manage the generational mix of residents in a sizeable portion of the mid-rent apartments. These homes are designed around social interaction between generations: housing plans are flexible to make them suitable for the different phases in life, while generous arcades facilitate social exchange.

The lower floors contain a health centre which offers a variety of medical and social services for this part of Strandeiland. Surrounding a lush green courtyard designed by DELVA, these services are complemented by a small café linking the intimate urban interior to the beach atmosphere outside the housing block.

The intersection of two islands is marked by a slender tower overlooking the ecological zone to the Northeast. As though a lighthouse, the building itself is topped by a large sign depicting the word ‘beach’, serving to mark the collective identity for this new neighborhood. The beach atmosphere has been translated into the architecture of the tower by introducing a deep facade incorporating verandas and an expressive fringe of solar panels.

The collective design strategy contains a number of material innovations. Above the re-used concrete foundations, all buildings will be realized using structural mass timber. On a material level the project will be a research into the new architectural aesthetic of biobased and energy producing materials.

The start of construction is expected for 2026.