WoZoCo Apartments for Elderly People

This building is known as WoZoCo's Apartments for Elderly People. It was designed as a housing option for the elderly by MVRDV and completed in 1997. WoZoCo refers to a Dutch term that describes the building's capacity for medical care as there are doctors and nurses there to care for the residents if necessary. It is located in Amsterdam Osdorp, a planned garden city suburb developed in the 1950's. This is an area mostly inhabited by elderly people and new development eating up the green space. This building was designed to suit the needs of the elderly residents while breaking up the monotony of the area. The building contains 100 apartments, 87 in the footprint and 13 cantilevered off the north facade. The building has its unique shape due to the architects' solution to zoning regulations. The footprint was only zoned for 87 units and the regulations specified that no apartments be north facing. To solve this with a request for 100 units, the architects decided use a reinforced concrete and steel structure and cantilever the remaining 13 units off the north facade and use the rest of the north side for corridor space. The mass of the structure was also broken up with small balconies protruding from the apartments made of steel and colored glass. This solution created a building that is varied and full of movement and color in contrast to the surrounding area.
Elizabeth Conte