Open Fort 400

Housing Corporation Ymere and the Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAi) are organizing the second edition of the Ymere NAi Open Ideas Competition, this year entitled Open Fort 400. This edition is an open call for ideas/designs for a building and public domain on the North-West banks of the Amsterdam IJ. Ymere, the NAi and the City of Amsterdam invite architects, designers, landscape architects and other cultural practioners to take part in the competition by registering and sending in their ideas. The deadline for all entries is August 12th 2009.

Inspiration
In 2009, it is 400 years ago that Henry Hudson - on behalf of the Dutch trading company VOC - set foot on what is now New York. A new Dutch colony was established here, New York. To start, Fort Amsterdam was built. The fort protected the colonists not by encircling the inhabited area, but by its strategic position as a central military settlement. The fort offered spatial freedom for the settlement to grow and eventually become a world centre of cultural diversity and knowledge. This positive dynamism between Amsterdam and Nieuw Amsterdam formed the inspiration for the Open Fort 400 open ideas competition.

Ymere housing
Since 1999, the Ymere housing association has held a competition every two years for architecture, visual art, landscape architecture and urban design. With the competition, Ymere focuses on the quality of the design of the urban residential environment. Since 2007 the housing corporation organises this competition in collaboration with the Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAi). Each competition revolves around an area that is to be developed or redeveloped by Ymere.

Point of focus in 2009: Grasweg, Amsterdam North
Just as in 1609 in the New World, in 2009 there is again a need for a fort that facilitates the development of a society. Such a fort is now planned for Amsterdam North: not a closed bastion but an open operating base and breeding ground for the creation of knowledge and international relations. The 2009 edition of the Ymere NAi Open Ideas Competition focuses on the tip of Grasweg in Amsterdam North. This location next to the IJ is in the heart of a post-industrial area which is undergoing considerable transformation. With the erection of new office and apartment buildings, as well as it being the site of the New Filmmusuem of Amsterdam, the area and its significance for the City of Amsterdam is on the rise. The Open Fort 400 competition is the occasion to add to these developments by means of a strong architectural vision for a place with a strong cultural character and public responsibility.

The competition: partners, participants and jury
The official holder of the ideas competition is the Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAi) with housing association Ymere acting as partner and, especially for this edition, in close collaboration with the City of Amsterdam. These three parties are inviting designers to think of an Open Fort for the Grasweg in Amsterdam North. The ideas should not be limited to just architectural solutions but should also include proposals for the use and programming of this place. The competition holder is looking for ideas for an Open Fort to boost the ongoing social, cultural and economic development of Amsterdam North – with, as a possible source of inspiration, Fort Amsterdam, the base from which New York blossomed into a world city of diversity and exchange.

This ideas competition is open to registered designers (architects, urban designers, landscape architects) from at home and abroad. An independent jury of experts will select a maximum of 30 submissions that will feature in the publicity after the competition. From these submissions the jury will select a maximum of five projects which will then enter a limited competition. The participants admitted to this subsequent competition will each receive €10,000 to elaborate their initial submissions.

Competition programme
The competition programme can be downloaded from this site (click the link at the top right corner of this page). The programme concerns the ideas competition only. The programme specifies the brief and all rules that apply to the ideas competition. The programme is divided into two parts: a description of the design assignment and the competition rules. The attachments form part of the programme and are equally binding for both the competition holder and the jury members. By submitting their work, the participants are accepting the competition programme.

The competition programme has been drawn up in line with the model competition programme as described in the Kompas and referred to in the Competitions Covenant that covers the field of architecture, urban design, and landscape architecture.

Additional information
For the limiting conditions regarding the competition, please refer to the downloadable pdf at the top right corner of this page. Images en maps of the designated area in Amsterdam North are also available for download.