Frederieke Hakman

Residing above the hearts of commerce

 
Residing above the hearts of commerce addresses the structural vacancy of upper floors above shops in Amsterdam’s historic city center. Where it was once common to live above your own store, this has become virtually impossible. My grandparents still did it — decades later, when my father opened a shop in Amsterdam, living above the sales floor was no longer an option.

Today, those upper floors stand empty. What was once a logical and lively way of inhabiting the city has become highly complex. Countless initiatives have been launched, but most remained fictional, one-off, or too fragmented to scale. Instead of dreaming up yet another concept, this project investigates why it keeps failing — and how it might succeed.

The result is a scalable redevelopment strategy: one building unlocks access to the entire block, a shared route leads to a rooftop garden with modular extensions — new living spaces at the rear of the historic buildings along the Leidsestraat.

The design specifically responds to the needs of young single-person households, a growing demographic often excluded from the housing market. This concept allows for shared facilities and informal interaction, without compromising autonomy.

At a time of acute housing shortage, the city continues to expand outward, while part of the solution may lie right at its core — unused, yet full of potential. This project taps into that overlooked urban interior: not with a one-off idea, but with a scalable, executable system. Modular, socially driven, and grounded in the realities of ownership, regulation, and construction logistics.  

 
 

Graduation date: 27 May 2025 
Graduation committee: Dafne Wiegers (mentor), Iwan Cameleers, Aisha Fouad
Additional members for the exam: Jolijn Valk, Miguel Loos