The wharf along Amsterdam’s Ij river offers views of an immense housing complex with a truly unusual appearance: the famous Silodam designed by Dutch architects MVRDV in 1995.

The building, completed in 2002, rises right in the middle of the river, supported on very strong pilotis; from far away it looks like an enormous ship, though a closer look reveals its metropolitan character.
The project was conceived in response to a specific development plan for construction of an architectural complex incorporating apartments, commercial premises and public spaces.
The project presented by MVRDV was chosen for its ability to reconcile often conflicting elements of the construction requirements: the biggest difficulty was the fact that the commercial and public areas were not to be located exclusively on the lower floors, but distributed at all levels of the building.

It was not easy to come up with a form of architecture in which various elements formed a harmonious whole free of conflicts, but MVRDV succeed in the attempt.
The original plan for construction of the Silodam was changed at some points as time went on: the final project specified that the complex was to include 157 apartments and about 600 square metres of commercial space. These were to cover ten floors, for a total height of 120 metres and a depth of 20.
All four of the building’s facades are highly variegated, not only in design but in their combinations of colours and materials, mirroring the different nature of the premises located on each single floor.

In order to meet the needs of individual clients, apartments were grouped into “mini-neighbourhoods” with safe, comfortable spaces. Each group includes four to eight units and has its own access responding to specific needs; all apartments have an entrance hall, a corridor, a balcony, a garden and a patio.
Each neighbourhood represents a specific type of dwelling, structure and facade; they are independent of one another, creating a complex system of passageways criss-crossing the entire building.
As the network of pathways combines with work areas and gardens, the result is a vertically arranged neighbourhood in which individual apartments take on the characteristics of houses with their own gardens.

A part of the building corresponding to the main entrance is projected out onto the water, so that it forms a public terrace occupied by a restaurant offering a panoramic view from the river all the way to the old city centre and surrounding the wharf with an atmosphere evocative of days gone by. Small boats can dock among the pillars supporting the entire building, so that it looks rather like a marina.
The building relates harmoniously to the previously existing buildings in the area, most of which have also been transformed into residential and commercial developments.

Silodam is an example of truly innovative architecture expressing a new concept of spatial development which few architects have attempted so far, in which premises are arranged not only horizontally but on a vertical basis too, with floors that fold and intersect with one another with the utmost flexibility.

Study of urban development themes relating to high population density is a constant theme in all MVRDV’s work, giving rise to designs that make optimal use of all available space.
And Silodam is the outcome of a process of negotiation among all the parties involved, and therefore a mirror of Holland’s political and economic situation.