Bram van den Heuvel

In my graduation project, the Bijlmerbajes is transformed from a prison into a new living environment for Amsterdam, the Bajesbuurt (Bajes beighbourhood), and this will serve as a catalyst for the social cohesion of the location, the neighbourhood and the city.

From prison to a new living environment
Forty years after the opening of a revolutionary prison concept, the Bijlmerbajes prison must close. The pioneering nature and the rehabilitation concept, which are the basis of the Bijlmerbajes prison, have led to a exceptional complex. However, this complex, a landmark at the entrance to the city with a unique character, no longer fulfils the current requirements of the prison policy. In addition to the prison policy, the city and the society are also subject to change.

Paradoxically, there are high vacancy rates and, at the same time, there is a serious lack of housing. Moreover, we, as residents of the city, are now using the city differently than in the past.

Building a new neighbourhood
By using the cultural-historical elements of the Bijlmerbajes prison, such as the moat, the wall and its six towers, I want to preserve the existing character. I will exploit the isolation of the complex in order to create a new location for the city. The design follows on from the concept that the neighbourhood increasingly serves as a type of living room. More and more activities of urban dwellers take place outside the home, such as working, meeting and relaxing. The inner area of the Bijlmerbajes prison will become the living room and will, over the course of time, be developed by occupants, entrepreneurs and local residents. The basis consists of a parcelling out of the inner area, which is cleared of buildings that divided the area instead of connecting it. In the first instance, this area will be filled in with nature and agriculture. This will be supplemented in later stages with facilities for the occupants, neighbourhood and city.

The wall provides natural social control and protection. This enables the space to be vulnerable, but also offers a physical platform for experimenting with new initiatives. The wall connects with the environment by means of ecological and cultural solutions. The towers will each be separately repurposed with the focus on a different theme per tower, such as working, joint project commissioning or healthcare. This will create a varied and social balance in the neighbourhood. I worked out one of the towers in greater detail, in which working will be the main focus. Within this theme, I have developed various housing typologies for different target groups, such as single people, families, communes and urban nomads. This variety of homes is expressed in the aesthetics of the building. The homes are small and simple, mainly used for sleeping. All other, primarily, social activities take place in the open heart of the building and in the inner area of the complex. For example, various basic facilities have been designed, which are shared by the occupants, and there is free space that can be jointly given shape by the occupants.

By making use of the existing construction, routing and shafts, while also adding atria, the closed tower is converted into a new open complex with an internal network of galleries, balconies, squares and staircases, as a result of which new unexpected relationships are created on both a spatial and social level.

Commission members: Laurens Jan ten Kate (mentor), Albert Herder, Bruno Doedens. Additional members for the exam: Herman Kerkdijk, Judith Korpershoek.