In April 2009, Arons En Gelauff Architects won the design competition for the Annie MG Schmidt House (‘The Silo Competition’) in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

This is the proposal for the ‘Silo Competition’ in Amsterdam, the Netherlands by local architectural firm Allard Architecture.

The Biotope converts the remains of an old water purification plant in an ecological mixed use development. Conceived as an ecological education center, the Biotope will be the home for eco-related institutes like IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), for several schools of Amsterdam, for residential spaces and for sport facilities.

The Biotope is a center open to all the public and dedicated to the public. The stepped roofs have an open routing for pedestrians, so they are able to walk around and follow the growth of vegetation during the change of seasons. These vegetables are also sold in the shops in Biotope.

In the Biotope residents, students and professionals are involved on the collective ‘production’ of the gardens. These production gardens are also open to the adjacent houses for its collective use of the people living in the same area. Underneath the stepped roofs are the schools and the access for the sports hall. At the rear of the whole complex are 75 self-sufficient private residences.

The whole project shall be an answer to recent ecological questions, while providing much needed educational and residential spaces for Amsterdam.