Subsidiary AM is leading a consortium that will acquire the former Bijlmer prison in Amsterdam from the Rijksvastgoedbedrijf, the Dutch central government real estate agency.
The consortium will develop a new, low traffic district, Bajes Kwartier, with approximately 1,350 homes that are designed to be completely energy-neutral. As part of the project, 98% percent of the prison’s building materials will be reused. Concrete will be broken up using new techniques and reused. Old cell doors will be used to make a bridge. Even the bars will return as balcony fences.
AM’s partners are AT Capital, Cairn and the designers OMA, Fabrications and Lola Landscape. The consortium will pay more than €84m (£76m) for the site.
The houses will be extremely well insulated and most of their energy needs will come from solar panels. In addition, wind energy will come from roof elements with built-in wind turbines. The organic waste from the district will be transformed into electricity. Warmth in winter and cooling in summer comes via heat pumps in the buildings. There are no connections to natural gas. Each house will have a hot water tap from a sustainable heating system.
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