'Horizons', a new sustainability icon in the Sluisbuurt neighborhood

Amsterdam is getting a leading international sustainability icon in the Sluisbuurt neighborhood. Here, the extraordinary residential building 'Horizons' is being developed by Ballast Nedam Development to the design of Paul de Ruiter Architects and FLUX Landscape Architects. Horizons is designed with the cycle of nature and the functioning of the human body as a source of inspiration: it breathes, thinks, and feels. The environment in which the residents will soon feel connected to nature is an international example and a step towards a sustainable future.

Signing Horizons

Carolien Schippers, Director of Land and Development on behalf of the City of Amsterdam, and Onno Dwars on behalf of Ballast Nedam Development signed the option agreement for lot 5C2 in Amsterdam's Sluisbuurt. With the Horizons plan, Ballast Nedam Development has emerged as the best for the development of the site with 126 homes, including medium-rent and owner-occupied, and business activity. Circularity and energy consumption were the main focus of the tender.

Onno Dwars, CEO of Ballast Nedam Development: "With Horizons, we are setting the new standard for sustainable construction. This development shows that we can use new innovations to move this wonderful sector forward, and take a pioneering role throughout the Netherlands and the world. Building sustainably for the future, for people and nature. This will soon be a great place to live."

Paul de Ruiter, Director Paul de Ruiter Architects: "By taking integral account of circularity, BENG requirements, nature inclusiveness, and future-proofing in architecture, a new standard has been set for sustainable residential buildings."

Horizons: Five-fold sustainability icon

Horizons is the first building with a positive impact on the earth, people, and animals. A building based on a multitude of innovations in circularity, sustainability, and future-proof construction. It is the start of a new generation of buildings that breathes, thinks, and feels, just as our bodies do as the ultimate functioning system. Horizons breathes through various green landscapes, providing a source of fresh air, oxygen, and health.

With innovations in energy, Horizons knows when there is too much or too little. And by combining nature's intelligence with man's innovative thinking, water and waste are naturally purified for reuse. But most of all, it feels good. Through the many opportunities for meeting, we hit the core of pleasant living, and the abundance of greenery provides a nice place for people and animals. The building shows that a positive contribution to Mother Earth is possible and that we can live based on an abundance of energy, nature, resources, and social connection.

Horizons is a five-time sustainability icon, with five times making a positive impact on the planet. Horizons prevents loneliness through mutual connection and an inclusive residential program in which residents have literally and figuratively shared ownership. The first floor will not be a full commercial space but a collective living room. Solar panels are incorporated into the architecture in the facade, generating more energy than the building uses, and creating space on the roofs for the urban parks of the future. Horizons is a circular icon composed of 62% biobased and recycled materials and 96% reusable at the end of its lifespan. A wooden building that stores nearly 3,000 tons of CO2. A building for nature, where the various roof gardens restore and enrich the biodiversity in the Sluis neighborhood, and rainwater is collected. A healthy building with clean indoor air in which raw material cycles are closed by purifying and reusing its own waste. It shows that humans and nature can live together in harmony. A building that sets the standard for the future in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and ultimately the world.

In addition to Paul de Ruiter Architects and FLUX Landscape Architects, the Ballast Nedam Development team includes Alba Concepts, Buro Loo, Pieters Bouwtechniek, WAX, CConcept Design, OneGo, Vogelbescherming Nederland, JOGG, Ursem, and Heddes.

Horizons: part of Sluisbuurt

The Sluisbuurt is located on the western tip of Zeeburger Island directly across from the Oranjesluizen and has a unique location on the IJ. It will be a sustainable, car-free neighborhood with construction in a combination of high-rise and low-rise buildings with over 5500 homes and facilities. The preparations for construction are in full swing, and together with this tender also starts the realization phase of the district. The complete development of the area will take 10 to 15 years.