Ries van den Bosch

De Overslag

A cathedral for harbor and city

Project 'De Overslag' concerns the transformation of a large industrial harbor complex at the Vlothaven in Amsterdam, where the future Harbor-City will arise. The complex will be transformed into a center for urban farming. In addition to production space, there is also room for public program. This means the building will retain her harbor function while the public role will give identity and history to the new expansion of Amsterdam Harbor-City.  

Spiral wooden constructions turn the twenty-four silos into vertical fields where starting urban farmers can grow different crops. The closed concrete silos keep out uncontrollable factors such as sun, rain and insects. The total capacity of the fields is equivalent to 375.000 m2 of traditional agricultural land. The wooden structures also relieve the internal funnels in the silos. This makes it possible to open up the spaces underneath the funnels. The resulting public spaces allows visitors to experience the building in a completely new way.

The harvest is processed into end products in the adjacent factory silos. The products find their way to the consumers via three routes. They are sold at the covered market square, by transport via the water network to the direct surroundings and they are the main focus of the fine-dining restaurant inside ‘De Overslag’. With the 375.000 m2 of the vertical fields, it will be the restaurant with the largest backyard in Amsterdam.

The current user only uses the complex at half capacity. This allows for half of the vertical fields to start transforming immediately. This way ‘De Overslag’ can start building her brand long before the area starts its transformation. When Harbor-City will start transforming in 2040, ‘De Overslag’ will be a pioneer within the area due to its head-start. The first public area of the Vlothaven where super local products are produced in a building with the unique identity of Harbor and City.

Graduation date: 13 July 2021
Graduation committee: Machiel Spaan (mentor), Dingeman Deijs, Hein van Lieshout