Jonas is a new concept for a mixed-use residential building, designed to enhance social cohesion by creating a sustainable and inviting heart for, not only its residents, but the complete neighborhood of IJburg (Amsterdam).

The neighborhood IJburg was developed over the last two decades, to address the growing need for housing and lack of available land near the city centre of Amsterdam. With 273 homes in Jonas we’re creating space in an overly crowded city and are quite literally forming a new community. This is why the building has a strong focus on communal living, with inclusivity as one of its main aims. 70% of the 273 housing units fit in the affordable rent category, making living in Jonas accessible for a wide range of people.

Residents don’t exclusively live in their own apartment, but in Jonas as a whole. We believe that the large amount of collective indoor and outdoor spaces and shared electric vehicles, incentivize neighbors to meet and thereby strengthen their sense of community. The underlying spatial concept of Jonas is based on a traditional timber ship structure. A series of trusses form the skeleton with a public route running through, shaped as a canyon, connecting the collective program. These functions as well as the commercial facilities in the plinth are supportive to the concept, ranging from a bakery, a restaurant and a cinema to spaces for sustainable entrepreneurs.

In addition to the focus on social sustainability, Jonas is packed with technical sustainable facilities. Even before being completed the project received 2 BREEAM Outstanding awards, which makes it one of the most sustainable (residential) buildings of Amsterdam and the Netherlands.