Saendelft is a contraction of the names Zaan (in its archaic spelling, “Saen”) and Assendelft, the old ribbon village which still is at the core of this new development. The housing estate is in the Noorderpolder (North Polder) between the railroad tracks in the north, the water of the Binnen Delft (Inner Delft) in the east and the Noorderveenweg (North Peat Road) in the south. To the west, Saendelft is still growing.

Saendelft is considered the last big expansion into the open terrain. During the ‘90s some 5000 houses were planned for here. But the Forbo Flooring plant, nearby to the north-east, forced the council to alter the original plans and give up on some 250 houses, the foundations of which had already been laid. Building is still in progress, to the north-west the 920 houses in Kreekrijk (Realm of Creeks) are all but finished and in the south the Overhoeken (Odd Patches) will eventually see 150 houses erected. After that, new developments in Zaanstad will be strictly within the existing contours.

Urban developer Ted van Galen was responsible for Saendelft’s lay-out. He came up with the idea of a patchwork of different points of reference and styles to guide the architects. West of the old Dorpsstraat (Village Road) some of the designs are based on the Amsterdam School style of the interbellum and the Italian flair of Tuscany, whereas in the eastern part one may encounter the white houses of Thorn, a typical village in the south of the Netherlands, and more classical architecture. There are many more styles to be discovered here.