floating gardens
Orange Architects, in collaboration with Bureau Rowin Petersma (responsible for the school design), has created a mixed-use building. Floating Gardens is a fully integrated structure that includes an ‘all-in-one school’, 192 apartments, and a large communal living room spanning three floors. The building is composed of layers of varying sizes to accommodate three green roof gardens, enhancing biodiversity and improving residents’ well-being.
Sloterdijk Centrum is set to become the heart of the large-scale urban development known as ‘Haven-Stad’. The area around Sloterdijk Station is rapidly transforming from a business district into a mixed-use neighborhood. Since the 1980s, Sloterdijk has been a stony enclave between Westerpark and the Bretten nature reserve.
Today, it has the potential to become a fully integrated part of this green network. Sloterdijk offers ample space for new initiatives—its contrasts, green potential, and available space make it a place of unmatched opportunity.
Floating Gardens is a distinctive building that gives Sloterdijk Centrum a recognizable face on both Haarlemmerweg and Spieringhorn Park. The inclusion of the ‘all-in-one school’ further reinforces Sloterdijk Centrum as a mixed residential and commercial district. Due to its location by the sports park and within the Bretten zone, special attention was paid to integrating the landscape and incorporating green roofs. As a result, the building was designed in staggered layers, allowing green rooftop gardens at various levels. These roofs contribute to urban biodiversity and improve residents’ quality of life. Additionally, a large canopy at the school entrance serves as a generous lobby into the adjacent sport park.
With Floating Gardens, we are creating a place where pioneers can actively shape the future of their neighborhood. The building houses 85 mid-range rental studios, 76 private sector rental apartments, and 31 owner-occupied homes. It also prioritizes communal living: a place that combines greenery with living, learning, and meeting in a dynamic city. With a school and daycare on the ground floor, there is literal space for Sloterdijk’s youngest residents.
IKC Sloterdijk - the ‘all-in-one school’ - is part of the Floati ng Gardens project. This exciti ng and crucial combinati on of functi ons for the city is located on the ground fl oor, marking the fi rst primary school in Sloterdijk. The school’s innovati ve design features a wide variety of learning spaces, ranging from large areas for interdisciplinary teaching to small, inti mate workspaces for individual or small group learning. All of these are arranged around a central core called ‘De Berg’. The school is designed to support the conti nuous development of children aged 0 to 13 in a natural, seamless way. The daycare and school— comprising 23 groups for around 450 children—are spati ally integrated, without a hard separati on between the daycare and primary school. It is a nurturing and sti mulati ng environment for play, learning, growth, and discovery.
Social sustainability is a key theme in Floating Gardens. The sharing economy is also introduced here. At the heart of the building, adjacent to a green patio, is the communal living room, spanning three floors. It functions as an informal meeting space for residents - where they can read the newspaper, work on laptops, have lunch, drinks, or dinner with neighbors and friends. This space fosters a strong sense of community, expanding residents’ mental living space beyond their own apartments. A guest room is also available in the building, allowing friends or (grand)parents to stay overnight - ideal for those renting a compact studio. The living room connects to a communal rooftop garden on the 5th floor - with views over Spieringhorn Park and Sloterdijk - and a quiet patio on the 2nd floor, offering plenty of outdoor space for resident interaction.
In Floating Gardens, social dynamics and civic value are essential factors for a more sustainable future for residents, children, and other users. The building façade also plays a role in enabling sustainable living, learning, and wellbeing. The southern horizontal bands are made of unique white solar panels. Vertical glass panels provide acoustic insulation and wind protection, while wooden cladding and planter boxes create a green living environment and a soft visual appeal.
The façade integrates nature-inclusive features, renewable energy generation, and aesthetic quality down to the smallest detail.
The wooden façade sections, known as the ‘cuts’ in the building, are constructed from rough-sawn Douglas fir planks. The ceilings in these sections also use Douglas wood slats. Wherever wood is visible in the façade, a roof garden is located. The entire patio is therefore clad in wood. This theme continues into the
ground floor, where the façade consists of vertical wooden posts resembling ‘tree trunks’ of varying widths. Integrated here are play areas and seating spaces set into the recessed parts of the façade.
CREDITS
Architect: Orange Architects (building), Bureau Rowin Petersma (school)
Design team: Jeroen Schipper, Patrick Meijers, Paul Kierkels, Elena Staskute,
Florentine van der Vaart, Gloria Caiti, Kapilan Chandranesan, Eric
Eisma, Casper van Leeuwen, Manuel Magnaguagno, Francesco
Mainetti (building), Rowin Petersma, Gilles Trevetin, Susanne Vruwink,
Adalberto Pacheco, Julien Kummer (school)
Landscape: Felixx (building), Gemeente Amsterdam (school)
