For a firm with a Paris office, it may come as a surprise that Studio Gang did not have a single finished building in continental Europe—until now. Earlier this month, the firm celebrated the opening of Q Residences, a 297,000-square-foot apartment complex in Buitenveldert, a neighborhood in the south of Amsterdam and one of the capital’s final garden cities.
Q Residences’ 248 apartments are divided among two buildings, Quartz and Qube. The most striking feature of the taller (23-story) Quartz are staggered white precast concrete balconies that groove and swoosh around the facade, shading apartments on the lower stories.
The tower is linked via a pedestrian plaza to Qube, its eight-story neighbor. Qube’s lower profile, more traditional massing, and neutral color palette visually link the Q Residences to the surrounding postwar apartment blocks.
Among its sustainable features are a high-performance heating and cooling system, in addition to a series of photovoltaic roof panels that power on site electric car charging stations.
“We designed Q Residences to strengthen residents’ connection to each other and to the ample green spaces that define Buitenveldert,” Studio Gang Founding Principal Jeanne Gang said in a press release. “At ground level, Qube and Quartz form a new generous public plaza that brings people together around art and landscape. And on Quartz, the balconies migrate in and out of the facade to extend sightlines diagonally in all directions and allow residents to be part of the building and in synch with the city and each other at the same time.”
The project was developed by Kroonenberg Groep in collaboration with NEOO. On the design side, Studio Gang worked with local associate architect Rijnboutt as well as interior designer Piet Boon. Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf created the plaza landscaping in collaboration with Deltavormgroep.
“Q Residences is a great example of how to introduce density to Buitenveldert while using the principles of the Algemeen Uitbreidingsplan [Amsterdam’s General Expansion Plan],” Rijnboutt Creative Director Frederik Vermeesch said. “The project brings a high level of quality across all scales, from its urban design and architectural concept to its materials and details.”
Studio Gang opened its Paris outpost in 2017. Among its other current projects across the pond are a facility for the University of Chicago Center in Paris, which won Honorable Mention in AN’s Best of Design Awards, Unbuilt – Educational Category in 2021 and the renovation of an existing building complex in Paris, anticipated to complete in 2026. And across the English Channel, the firm worked on an education facility for the Royal College of Art’s Battersea South campus.
