Eem Valley

Eem Valley reimagines a former post-industrial riverside area as a healthy, ecological urban extension of Amersfoort. With a diverse mix of housing, sports, and mobility functions, the site becomes a strategic step in the transformation of Kop van Isselt.Historically, the Eem has served as a vital connector to the industries along its banks, shaping a characteristic low-rise, informal urban fabric. Eem Valley builds on this heritage by exploring unconventional in-between spaces and allowing the area to gradually rise away from the river. Long a carrier of cultural identity, the Eem is further strengthened through this project, which reinforces and reinterprets its spatial heritage through a renewed urban plan.

The Koppelbrug site is a unique intersection of urban industrial heritage and Eem ecology. This two-faced identity offers an opportunity to explore both the shared values and inherent tensions between the river landscape and the post-industrial setting. In this project, we have aimed to define an approach not only for our immediate area but also to rethink the broader development of Kop van Isselt. Our vision proposes it as an extension of Amersfoort, not centered on housing alone, but on a contextual reinterpretation of industry and river. Here, housing becomes a guest within its larger environmental and historical framework.

Building as a river landscape

The building becomes integral part of the Eem river valley by contributing to its unique wet ecology. It stores and slowly discharges rawinwater to the Eem, and provides habitat for plant and animals. The terraced landscape of the building refers to the natural topography of the river valley.

Up and down, along and across the Eemvallei 

Industrial riverside of the Eem is cut off from the public: steep, privatised wateredges make it impossible for people to approach the Eem. With our project we propose new social connections along and across the Eem, that strengten social appreciation of the river and stimulate healthy movement: biking, water sports, walking, running, climbing up and down the building’s rocky wall. Our project proposes to see Koppelbrug site as a zone of ambiguous wetness that belongs to the Eem valley: streaming water, porous surfaces, wetlands, swamps, rainwater gardens.

Industrial poetry

The transformation of the industrial area calls for a respectful approach to its existing heritage and character. Our aim is to give the new development a distinct identity: rough, robust, and untamed. Here, we provide space for spontaneous occupations of people and vegetation. SIn terms of form, we propose an urban block that aligns with the industrial area’s spirit: playful, large, freestanding blocks.

Nature inclusive and climate adaptive building

1. The rocky biotope. The building provides living, breeding and feeding conditions for species suc as wild bee, common pipistrelle, house sparrow, common swift and black redstart. As part of facade design, the building integrates nest boxes, planters with 40 cm substrate layer and nectar-rich climbing plants, supporting biodiversity.
2. The wetland biotope. In order to provide conditions for species associated with the Eem river’s ecosystem, we propose a wetland garden on the rooftop of the large sports hall. This moisty environment attracts wetland animals, such as: grutto, bluethroat, wild bees, orange tip butterfly, damselfly. The habitat of the Eem river extends vertically into the building. The rooftop wetland is irrigated by the rainwater collected from the tower’s roofs. It acts as a buffer, it stores and gradually releases rainwater back into the Eem, helping to reduce the risk of future flooding.

Client: Europan 18
Collaborators: Studio Vincent Architecture, BASE Job van der Sande 
Type: Nature-inclusive building design
Location: Amersfoort, Netherlands
Year: 2025