Long may we live! Long may we live!

The General Expansion Plan for Amsterdam (1935) included plans for independent housing for older people in the Slotermeer neighbourhood. The housing was built after the war, to a design by Aldo van Eyck and Jan Rietveld. The houses are part of the neighbourhood but also form a protective and peaceful enclave. The orientation of the seven blocks creates an atmosphere of openness and enclosure. The single-storey, ground-floor, flat-roofed houses have a storage shed at the front and a small rear garden. The complex also includes pubic gardens with benches to encourage interaction between the residents.