Vrijburcht: a privately funded climate–proof collective garden in Amsterdam

Credit: Anya Chernik (Unsplash)

This case study was originally published on the Climate-ADAPT website – for more information please visit the case study page. Climate-ADAPT aims to support Europe in adapting to climate change by helping users to access and share data and information. The platform includes the Climate-ADAPT database that contains quality checked information that can be easily searched.

Introduction

Vrijburcht is a multipurpose living-and-working complex in Amsterdam. It offers many shared social amenities for both the residents and the people from the neighbourhood. The heart of the complex is the courtyard garden with trees, a vegetable garden, lawns, flowers, benches and agreenhouse. The garden provides various solutions to the expected impact of climate change; it offers residents a cool environment during warmer summers; rain water is stored in underground tanks for irrigation in dry periods; the unsealed area permits maximum rainwater permeability. The complex was realized and financed through of a ‘collective private commissioning’.

Residents that are currently living in the Vrijburcht complex had jointly developed the project, which gave them maximum influence on the design but also included carrying the risks related to the pre-financing and construction phase. The climate-proof courtyard garden was an integral part of the design of the complex and its features based on the wishes of the future residents.

You can read the full case study on the Climate-ADAPT website.

Further reading

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