Overtheyears,musichasalwaysbeenaninspirationtohumankind. ThisincludesthesurroundingsoftheGershwinBrothersapartmentand shoppingcomplexinAmsterdam.PayinghomagetoAmerica’sbestjazz composersIraandGeorgeGershwin,thisbuildingcombinestheartof architectureandmusicintoone. AFANTASTICBUILDINGNEXT The“George”buildinghasarichand brickwork,thisbuildingwasbuiltin TOTHEGREENSOFAMSTERDAM stronglook;itsarchitectureblending aU-shapedformsurroundingacom- TheGershwinBrothersbuildingisa perfectlywithotherbuildingsinthe munal innercourtyard.TheIrabuil- largebuildingcomplexlocatedinone neighbourhood.Ithasabrightappea- dingconsistsof75apartmentunits, ofthestrategicpartsofAmsterdam, rancethankstoitslightyellowbricks. mainlyluxurious2-bedroomunitsand theZuidasarea.Itisclosetothe TheGeorgeresidentialbuildingoffers somespaciousterracedunits.Each greensofAmsterdamforest(Amster- 84unitsinthreedifferentapartment groundfloorapartmenthasitsown damseBos),fifteenminutesawayfrom typesandhastwelvefloors. accessfromgroundlevel. thehistoric‘Grachtengordel’(alineof canalsformingtheAmsterdamcity Ontheotherhand,the“Ira”building Betweenthebuildingliesasemi-priva- centre),aneighbourhoodwithplenty takesadifferentpathtoits“brother”. telandscapedgreenstripthatdirectly ofamenities,andithasitsowntrain Itiswarmerincolour,smallerinscale, bordersthecanal. andmetrostation.Moreover,Zuidas yetricherindetail.InspiredbyBerlage isoftenknownastheinternational architecturestylewithlotsofbrownish representationofthecityforitspopu- lationanditscosmopolitanfeel. JustlikewhereGeorgeandIraGersh- wincamefrom,theinspirationforthe GershwinBrothersbuildingsistaken fromthemixtureoftheManhattan skylineandBrooklyn’sindustrial image.Thebuildings,designedby architectsAdriaanMout,Juriaanvan StigtandMarianneLoof,consistoftwo differentbuildingssidebyside:named “George”ontheleftand“Ira”onthe right,withdifferentcharacters.Both buildingshaveundergroundparking layersfortheirresidents. BestofDOM|51