Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Architect: MVSA.

Rivierstaete is a building located in the Rivierenbuurt neighborhood in the south of Amsterdam. The building was designed by architect Hugh Maaskant in 1973 and was Europe’s largest office building at the time. However, by 2013, the building was 60% empty and in a technically dated state. The building was sold in a public sale, and the new owners decided to renovate the building instead of demolishing it. MVSA Architects won the pitch to renovate the building and proposed transforming the large, empty monolith into a building that would fit seamlessly into its surroundings and establish a lively relationship with the neighborhood.

The renovated Rivierstaete building was pared back to the structure of the staggered volumes, and the pinched band of windows on the white-tiled façade was replaced by floor-to-ceiling glass frontages. Planted roof terraces were added at different levels, which softened the hard edges of the building with restful greenery, thus reinforcing the connection between inside and outside. The building presents a green front garden to the neighborhood, along with its roof terraces and roof gardens. These green roofs provide water buffering and retention, which means that the rainwater is easily drained, and the building is ‘Amsterdam Rainproof.’ The new transparent façades let in a large amount of daylight, and an advanced system controls the climate ceilings that are present throughout the building, as well as the energy-efficient lighting with its daylight control and motion sensors.

The renovated building is extremely flexible, and all floors can be compartmentalized or rearranged in many different ways, with minimal effort and waste of materials. By placing the technical installations and communal facilities in the two cores, extra space and open floor areas were created. Together with the floor-to-ceiling glass, the green roof terraces, and the enormous sky lounge, an optimally flexible, sustainable, and future-proof building was produced, seamlessly connected with its beautiful context. The renovation of Rivierstaete has turned the once deeply unpopular building into a much-loved landmark. The iconic staggered block shape has been retained, only no longer with closed volumes, but with transparency and greenery, embracing the neighborhood and the location. The whole area has received a positive boost from this new icon on the Amstel.

Photo credit: Barwerd van der Plas, Mathijs Witbraad, Suitable Images.