Site Visit: How Amsterdam’s Sluishuis Secures 50% Middle-Income Housing

In November 2025, we visited Sluishuis by BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group and Barcode Architects in Amsterdam’s IJburg. The project uses public land to secure permanent middle-income housing in this new district.

The City of Amsterdam used a long leasehold arrangement, known as erfpacht, on municipal land, together with a competitive tender process to award development rights. Of the 442 homes, roughly half are dedicated to middle-income residents, with 221 units falling under Amsterdam’s regulated middenhuur scheme. These homes are rent-capped at approximately €900–€1,100 per month and allocated to screened middle-income households priced out of the high-end market.

Most notably, the waterfront jetties and swimming edges are fully public, while the stepped route to the rooftop functions as a managed public walkway. The City requires it to be open to everyone for part of the year, making Sluishuis not only a housing development on public land, but also a piece of shared waterfront infrastructure.

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