The Diesel neighbourhood in Watergraafsmeer Amsterdam is a luscious green pocket tucked behind a historical dyke amidst the hustle and bustle of the expanding city. The focus point of the neighbourhood is an old farm which will house a community oriented organic restaurant. New housing blocks with a special theme are replacing the existing run-down duplex housing units. Edible vegetation plays a major cohesive role in this new ‘urban oasis’, from the public space to the private balcony. Emphasis is thus placed on a strong community oriented neighbourhood with a unique identity within the urban fabric, as the whole area transforms from an industrial zone at the edge of the city to a lively mixed neighbourhood in the city proper. Ideally one would learn to love and never have to leave the area as the whole development caters to students, starters, families and empty-nesters.

Diesel (design: Angie Abbink) & Watt (design: Moriko Kira) are the first two housing blocks of six that will define the green centre of the neighbourhood. This secret pocket in the city is easily accessible for traffic which is catered for within the  blocks thus giving priority to pedestrians in a playful and informal green park area. While awaiting the next step in the development the 4 remaining plots will be used for urban farming and tenement plots as a motivator for social cohesion between the old and new inhabitants. Green facades, green roofs and a visible water drainage system form a sustainable basis of this unique urban oasis.