African Design Magazine ADM #41 June 2018 | Page 27

IJBAAN CABLE CARS
CONNECTING
AREAS WITH
SLEEK CABLE
CAR DESIGN
UNStudio has completed designs for
the IJbaan: Amsterdam’s future cable
car, commissioned by the IJbaan
Foundation (Stichting IJbaan). The
IJbaan is a grassroots ‘Amsterdammer’
citizens’ initiative, snowballing from a
crowdfunding campaign led by Bas Dekker
and Willem Wessels started in 2015 and
now supported by the Municipality
of Amsterdam. Its goal is to create a
new connection across the IJ by the
th
750 anniversary of Amsterdam in 2025.
T
he 1.5 km cable car line is a
clean and quick public transport
connection between two growing
residential areas: Amsterdam-West and
Amsterdam-Noord / NDSM. The design
consists of three slender pylons and two
stations: NDSM Marina on the North
Bank and Minervahaven to the South.
The cable car is designed flexibly, so that
in the future the route can be expanded
to include a third station, creating a
connection to the Hemknoop, Sloterdijk
Station or even Westergasfabriek and the
Westerpark, depending on growth and
need. 
Unique mobility
The cable car track spans 1.5 km, and will
take 4.6 minutes to complete a full journey
at an average speed of 21.6 km/h. The
passenger cabins have a capacity of 32
to 37 passengers, with additional bicycle
cabins with space for four to six bikes.
“A cable car is an extremely sustainable
public transport system. It is a very fast
AFRICAN DESIGN MAGAZINE © | JUNE 2018
27