Developed by the housing association Lieven de Key, Stepstone provides 206 social rented starter apartments. Tenants can live there for up to five years before moving to alternative housing. The three-member judging panel for the Zuiderkerk prize 2024 was impressed by the design by LEVS architecten and particularly welcomed the arrival of affordable housing in Zuidas.
From the judging panel’s report
‘Stepstone, a slender 18 m high tower immediately impresses thanks to the variety of outdoor areas and the striking crown framing with glass frontages. These offer a spectacular view, especially at sunset, as one resident rightly pointed out. The building adds a special dynamism to Zuidas, an area generally known for upmarket housing. The decision to create affordable housing for young people in Zuidas is commended by the jury, because it contributes to the area’s diversity.’
‘Stepstone offers an attractive and diverse housing concept for young people at the heart of one of the most prestigious parts of Amsterdam. It adds affordable housing to an area normally associated with high incomes, which makes the project not only valuable architecturally but also socially and therefore the worthy winner of the 2024 Zuiderkerk prize.’
Kenniskwartier
Stepstone is located in the centre of Kenniskwartier, with VU Amsterdam (Vrije Universiteit), Amsterdam UMC (location VUmc) and Amsterdam Zuid within walking distance. Some 2,700 new homes are being built there in the years ahead, including the already completed Stepstone and the multifunctional complex The Pulse of Amsterdam. By the end of 2026, we are not only expecting the completion of 25 free-market sector homes in Ceci, but also 127 student flats from the DUWO student housing association in the same year.
Zuiderkerk prize
The Zuiderkerk prize is presented annually and is the City of Amsterdam’s most important housing construction award. Of the 64 housing construction projects completed between 1 August 2023 and 1 August 2024 that were entered for the prize, three were shortlisted. Of these, Stepstone was the ultimate winner.
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