Borneo Sporenburg was docklands islands stand-in as trade center.

The area was formed for

industrial and harbor locations serving trades with Holland's colonies. It has witnessed a rapid
growth on the areak economy, especially after the development of the deep water harbor in 1876
The quay was designed to some modern eficient requirements for loading and unloading with a
deep water construction. However the harbor could no longer survive. After World War II, it moved
to the city's western docklands and some new industries appeared in the area which made it less
busy and disuse in 1970%

"Ihe Planning¨

In 1996, the decision was made to convert the Borneo and Sporenburg from a no longer used harbor
to a completely high residential neighborhood, Due to the inactive harbor and the need of
residential housing
Ihe urban setting presented a very high density of 100 units per hector ( 3 times the density of a
typical suburban development) and a Iow-rise housing, each with a door opening on the streets.
Ihese requirements resulted in a design done by west 8, which featured a harmonic connection
between the built and un-built forms

The west 8 plan got the inspiration from villages on the former zuiderzze, where small houses
oriented toward the water with a pulsing relation between the out and in-door spaces.

More than 100 architects and planners contributed in the planning procedure together with the
public, creating some new typologies and urban spaces for
the middle class families

The plan is divides 3 "sculpture blocks" zones known as the spinix, pacman and fountainhead,
creating important landmarks with a collective of open spaces in the form of courtyards and
greenery

In fact, the water surrounds the docks functions as leading public space, open for Amsterdam
boating culture.
Range of stakeholders

In this new redevelopment, the plan targets a high density and low-rise buildings. This new housing
type is a catching eye for developers and a massive demand for the market

The consumers have diverse options reflects a sense of local character with modern homes. It offers
compact housing and narrow streets that provide a sense of safety for children and families. Some
houses facing canals have waterfront access, and severa] bridges accommodate pedestrian and cycle
trafflc_ A school and a house for elder citi7zns have been integrated to the area, while 30% of the
dwellings are subsidized social housing The plan is encourages middle class families and couples
(Kusumawijaya, 2007)

The development

The development of Borneo Sporenburg has been a very effective process. The choice of west 8 was
a totally new risk for the nether land's history

Such a high dense in dwellings and a diverse range of houslng codes have never happened before in
the area. The experience has had a significant impact on Dutch urban planning and free plots are
now often included into new planned neighborhoods in the Netherlands.

west8

West 8 designed the master plan of Bornea and Sporenburg_ It could successfully bring out the
sense of diversity to the urban structure of the citys streets and buildings typologies The framework
was done with over 100 architects.
Free land was available was available for on which private individuals could build their own houses
under strict design codes.

Ihese individuals consulted with the architects in organiizd workshops, challenging them to meet
their needs by responding creatively to the design code.

Borneo Sporenburg is a predominately residential

development with 2,500 housing units_ Its linear parcels lie along docks and provide a waterscape as
well as a streetscape.

The concept revolves around having linear parcels of single unit housing

The fundamental unit of Borneo Sporenburg is the single -family row-house. To avoid monotonous
visuals, typologies repeat in parcels of 5-12. To break up the parcels of single unit homes, dense
apartment blocks intrude these strokes and create a more interesting movement both visually and
physically.
These apartment blocks create diversity and offer alternatives to the patio house living style

These superblocks also differ in orientation.

One of the most appealing features of Borneo Sporenburg is the 60 "free parcels" section. These 60
parcels are allocated to private owners. They may build distinctive buildings within these plots.
However, they must abide by the building codes and design preconditions of the area. In contrast to
the monotonous 5-12 parcels of the Other areas, this streetscape is fine grained with the individual
characteristics of each building, yet aggregated into one element.

Bridges were designed to perpendicularly connect these parallel developments.

Private spaces are created within the dwelling.

Semi-public spaces predominately exist as c ouryards in multi storey housing.

Public space often takes a water front character.

Green belts have been slashed across the project to create some open spaces for public.

The personality of Borneo and Sporenburg can be felt amongst the patios and roof gardens of its
buildings, amongst the striking views of the waterfront and its activities, and it's interesting facades.

The variety of façade designs and materials alone with the imposition of schools, open areas and
larger blocks provide discontinuity in the linearity and repetitiveness, making it more stimulating.

It is safe due to the streets always being over-looked, and it is easy to navigate due to its simple
linear nature, making it comfortable for both residents and visitors.

In its aesthetics it adopts a postmodern interpretation of the old canal belt. It has transcended its
past dockland characteristic in a modern residential development. Contemporary architecture from
around the world has contributed to its designs in the form of famous architects. This is island-living
Dutch-style: dense but comfortable.

The streets are narrow and made of stone. Parking takes up minimum outdoor space. Public green
lacks as the project prioritizes private outdoor space.
West 8 originally planned to have a fine grained rhythm of a variety of typologies and facades for the
project Architects all over the world were
assigned to design these.

However it was later decided that the project Will only consist of a few most popular types of units
and be repeated in rows of S- 12. Initially this created

Monotonous horizontal units in contrary to the desired sequential single vertical units. Ihis
horizontal continuity has however been broken up by residents using plants and areas of defensible
spaces with benches or toys.

The streetscape is less diverse than it could have been. But it contributes to a more wholesome
composition of coherence.
In proportion, each unit is taller than it is wide.

The typologies play with space as they seize it from the outside and release Into the house itself.
High ceilings, patios, courtyards and roof top gardens are a pleasant surprise in a dense
development like Borneo Sporenburg.
The building, of impressive size, incorporates 214 apartments distributed
over thirteen floors and an underground parking lot

To allow natural light to reach even the lowest floors and the inner
courtyard of the building, it is raised on two sides to create a central
fold increasing the available light.
Despite the strong prevalence of empty spaces (openings, loggias,
windows)over full (opaque parts of the façade), "The Whale" looks like a
solid with an essentially even, undifferentiated surface.
Large-scale masterplans are often subdivided Into development parcels to bring benefits In terms of
the speed and value of the development. They can also bring design benefits including variety and
diversity.

Borneo offers 60 free parcels for individual owners to design homes of their cholce withln
plannlnglaws.

Compared to the rest ofthe 2500-unlt Borneo Sporenburg houslng development on the docks, it's by
far the most humane, creative and attractive section In the nelghborhood.

At least 30-50% of each dwelling Is open space, such as a patio or courtyard at high or low level.
Parking Is only on the property, none on the street, provlding a much more appealing walk or bike .

Paths and directions between significant points meshed along with the linear corridors along the
settlements create the framework of the roads on Borneo Sporenburg. However, the building layout
clearly takes priority over the roads and car parking layout.

Parking does not take up much of its outdoor space. Apartment blocks offer underground parking. A
few areas have on-street car parking.
Low-rose terraces houses have internal car ports. These have been made more pleasant by
innovatively designed porches doors and gates to suit the character each individual house.

Houses faces internal canals have the luxury of private waterfront access.

Pedestrian pathways and bicycle lanes provide cater well to the public. The peninsulas are
connected by 3 bridges. West 8 designed 2 of these bridges. One low bridge was designed for cyclists
and handicapped and another high bridge to allow sailboats to access the marina. These bridges are
strictly pedestrian; the design for Borneo Sporenburg de-emphasizes reliance on automobiles and
encourages bicycling or walking

The controversy prevailing this project, which addresses the need for high-density housing through
limiting trafic and utilizing unused land, is related to the complaint about the lack of open spaces.

The project requires every unit/parcel in West 8 to contain between 30-50% space for light to enter
instead of large open spaces in the area. Residents are seen to use streets and sidewalks as
gathering areas. Most of the public open space ofthe project has a linear form. This can seem
monotonous and dull, except in the case of water front spaces.

The master plan lacks nodes where different forms and functions meet to create an interesting
intersection in terms of urban space. The apartment buildings do achieve this in form, but not in
function.

Originally, the plan was to have a wide variety of housing types, though finally it was limited to Six
popular types, which is criticized for the risk of repetition, and forming horizontal facades instead of
vertical ones.

The lack of mixed land use in the project contradicts its initial idea of limiting car usage. Residents
are forced to own cars to reach facilities that are not offered in this development.