- AMFORA Amsterdam  605 kb |
by Jansma, Rein | alg@zja.nl  |
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| Short Outline |
| AMFORA Amsterdam is a proposal to densify the city of Amsterdam by creating a CO2-neutral system of tunnels underneath the canals, lowering the ecological footprint of the city. Parking, shops, gyms, cinemas and the like can be placed there, creating space for a bustling city life aboveground. |
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| Abstract |
| A compact city provides a high service level to its inhabitants while reducing, among others, the transport volume, lowering its ecological footprint. That’s what we want to achieve in Amsterdam. Amsterdam’s old city centre is a web of small streets and canals where no additional space is available – except under the canals. In collaboration with Strukton, Zwarts & Jansma Architects proposes to densify the city centre by means of an underground tunnel system underneath these waters. We propose to dig around 50 km of multi-storey tunnels under the city. They can be used for parking (freeing the narrow streets of parked cars), for shops, cinemas, gyms and other facilities that do not specifically need daylight. Also, parts of the infrastructure such as cables and pipes can be disposed of in the tunnels. Right after leaving the Amsterdam Ring Road A10 car traffic will be directed below street level. Residents and visitors reach the city centre underground, so that only few cars move aboveground. Amfora is CO2-neutral. Heat pumps provide the energy for heating and cooling. Excess energy can be used for temperature control in the buildings aboveground. Heat and cold storage will be used, and the tunnels can be used for peakwater storage. Moreover, the Amsterdam air will improve: exhaust fumes will be filtered using state-of-the-art technology. Particulate matter, NOx and other harmful substances therefore no longer reach the athmosphere. After having presented the plan to city officials, a team consisting of Q-Park – ING Real Estate, Multi Development, Strukton and Zwarts & Jansma Architects is currently working on two pilot projects. |
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| Keywords |
| Densification, City, Underground, Amsterdam, Sustainable, Quality of Life in the City |
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| Case Study presented on the ISOCARP Congress 2009: Low Carbon Cities |
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