THE EVOLUTION OF CITY LIFE
On Beethovenstraat, next to the pitches of the Amsterdam Football Club, the iconic new Valley building is set to change the landscape
of Zuidas. The building embodies the major transformation that is reshaping the Zuidas district from a business location into a lively and
multifunctional urban centre. Valley is in perfect keeping with this transformation, offering a space for living, working, recreation and
leisure. Developer OVG Real Estate calls this ‘the evolution of city life’. Hello Zuidas sat down with Jan Hein Tiedema, OVG’s executive
managing director for the Netherlands, and Tom Redecker, development manager at OVG and involved in this mega project.
JAN HEIN TIEDEMA AND TOM REDECKER22 • Te x t Romy Lange • Photography Jesse Kraal • Artist’s impression Vero Visuals • 23
Valley will be delivered in 2021. In search
of a stunning office space or top retail
location? Visit http://www.ovgrealestate.nl or
email commercial manager Joppe van
der Heijden ([email protected]) and get in
touch with OVG.maintain the plants. That will be organized
centrally by the owners’ association. There
will also be a dedicated landscape manager to
keep ever ything alive and healthy.’ As Tiedema
says, ‘From the beginning, we imagined a
building that would create a landscape for all
residents and users of Zuidas.’MIXED USE
It was and is the ambition of the municipality
of Amsterdam to create more buildings that
are designated for mixed-use in Zuidas,
meaning that as well as offices, they also
offer other facilities such as residentialhousing. That was also one of the City’s re-
quirements for development of this plot on
Beethovenstraat. ‘Here in Zuidas, the plan all
along was for not just an office location, but a
full-fledged urban district with all the facilities
and housing that entails. The City of Amster-
dam saw this could be a linchpin between the
offices that are already here and the residential
neighbourhood evolving around the AFC.’
Describing the space, Redecker says, ‘The
ground floor will have various small bars, cafés
and restaurants, and we’re in talks with various
parties about ways to shape Valley’s cultural
space. The building has a ver y unique design,and cultural organizations identify with that.
Like ever ything else, we want to make this
component special. And, like David van Traa
said in his inter view with you, a satellite of the
Stedelijk Museum would fit in ver y well here.’ZUIDAS HIGH LINE
The new mixed-use building will total 75,
m². According to Redecker, ‘Valley will have it
all: two hundred rental apartments, offices,
a car park, retail space, restaurants, a skybar
and an amazing cultural space, designed
by the renowned architect Winy Maas from
MVRDV Architects.’ ‘Beyond that,’ Tiedema
says, ‘Valley incorporates a one-of-a-kind
public space. Two sets of stairs on Beetho-
venstraat that leads to the landscape on
top of the plinth will be accessible to the
public. Standing at the top of the landscape,
you’ll have a view of the football pitches and
Beatrixpark, which will be a really unique
feature.’ ‘The project’s landscape architect
is Piet Oudolf, who also designed The High
Line in New York,’ notes Redecker. Tiedema
predicts that ‘Valley will be a building that
attracts architectural lovers from all over
the world. It will really enhance the city, and
being a part of that is brilliant.’GREEN, GREENER, GREENEST
The landscape is a defining feature of the
building. ‘The plants chosen are hardy
enough to sur vive winter weather, which
is important for the building’s image, and
will be just as important ten or fifteen years
from now,’ says Tiedema. ‘In cities across the
world, adding green space on buildings has
become a real trend,’ adds Redecker. ‘Valley
is a great example of that. Of course, this also
has practical ramifications. A gardener will