Buikslotermeerplein

The transformation of Buikslotermeerplein shows how urban densification can be achieved through collaboration, flexibility and a shared vision for the future.

Located around Amsterdam-Noord’s metro station, Buikslotermeerplein is at the heart of one of Amsterdam’s fastest-growing areas. Once a peripheral shopping centre, Boven ’t Y has always been an important meeting place for residents. The ambition is to transform it into a mixed urban district: a lively city heart with housing, shops, workplaces, public facilities and high-quality public space.

Instead of designing a fixed masterplan, we developed a dynamic framework of spatial rules. These “rules of thumb” (Vuistregels) were created together with around 60 landowners, local stakeholders and the Municipality of Amsterdam. Through an intensive participatory process, the plan defines the qualities that future developments must achieve while leaving room for gradual transformation over time.

The framework is built around three ambitions: enriching the area, greening it, and connecting it with its context. These ambitions guide the creation of dynamic streets, diverse housing, sustainable building blocks and a welcoming public space.

In a collaborative process with the involved architects – including UN Studio, Barend Koolhaas, Mecanoo, Arons & Gelauff and Rijnboutt -, we developed a set of design guidelines (Beeldkwaliteitplan) which aim to create consistency in the plan, while celebrating the diversity in architecture.

Buikslotermeerplein demonstrates a new approach to urban development: when ownership is fragmented and challenges are complex, the city is not designed from above but built collectively. The result is not a finished blueprint, but a shared direction for the future—turning a shopping centre into the Heart of North.

Since 2026, Daan Roggeveen serves as the supervisor of the Buikslotermeerplein district, responsible for the spatial quality of the area.